"I will definitely not go on until I’m 40 years old" - Van der Poel shares Pogacar's worries on longevity

Mathieu van der Poel is one of the most exciting riders in the peloton, a master in three different disciplines and a winner in all of them. Still, this type of racing is not something many can keep throughout many years, and the Alpecin-Deceuninck has admitted he likely won't stick around until the age of the likes of recently-retired Alejandro Valverde and Philippe Gilbert.

“I think this year the mental fatigue is a bit bigger than the physical one. There’s not really a lot left,” Van der Poel told Cyclingnews. “The Worlds of Gravel is something I wanted to do because it’s a bit special, but then these two races came extra. I will be happy if I can take a little break again after Friday.”

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This comes after an incredibly long 2022 year. After suffering heartbreak at the 2021 Olympics where he crashed out of the XCO race, he has been hampered by back problems. His Cyclocross season was cut short after only two races, as he was forced to take a month off the bike in January, sidelining him from off-road, and jeopardizing his classics campaign.

Still, he has undergone an incredibly comeback, riding back into the peloton with third at Milano-Sanremo, and going on to win both Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Tour des Flandres. Right after he rode the whole Giro d'Italia, winning a stage, spending a few days in pink and going onto several breakaways. He wanted to ride the Giro-Tour double, but lack of rest after the Giro and a less good preparation saw him abandon the Tour without any meaningful result.

He returned to competition and raced the World Championships where his Mixed Team Time-Trial race was hampered by mechanicals and crashes from teammates. Things would only turns worst for the Dutchman however, who had an altercation with two teens at the team hotel the night before the World Championships road race, which he abandoned after minutes. His 2022 season was done and dusted, with more ups and downs than any other colleague of the peloton, surely.

He returned to competition however at the Gravel World Championships where he finished third. Plans for 2023 will however be quite different. “For sure, I will only do one Grand Tour next year,” Van der Poel affirmed. “I think this year was a bit exceptional as well because there was a chance to take the pink jersey in the Giro, but otherwise I will do the same as I did in the years before: just 10-15 cyclocross races, then I’ll prepare myself for the Classics season, then take some rest and go for the Tour."

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“I’ll decide when my cyclo-cross season starts after I’ve had a break, but I think it will be the end of November, somewhere there, but I’m not sure," he revealed, looking past his back issues and looking to return to the discipline where he's grown into a world-class talent.

He was a last-minute call-up to yesterday's Giro del Veneto, however he did not finish the Italian race, likely his last of the season. “I was here for the week anyway. It’s difficult to stay training so I preferred to do a race to keep busy, otherwise I’m staying in the hotel all day, so I just said I’d do the race," he commented on his participation.

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He was questioned over his mental fatigue after such a brutal year, and van der Poel admitted he is not considering reaching longevity as some of the riders who have recently retired from cycling. “I read an interview with Serge Pauwels last week, where he said that the new generation is only going to last until their 30s, maybe 35, but not anymore like Gilbert and Valverde. I think that makes sense,” he added.

“I think it’s the evolution of cycling. If you look at [Juan] Ayuso, as well, he’s 19 years old and already on the podium of a Grand Tour. For me, it’s not possible to do this for 15 years, but that’s talking for me. I can only talk for myself. As I’m feeling now, I will definitely not go on until I’m 40 years old," he concluded.