“I'm actually quite far removed from Mathieu" - Adrie van der Poel admits he misses regular contact with superstar son

There aren't many - if any - bigger names in the world of cycling today than dual-discipline world champion, Mathieu van der Poel. Given the Dutchman's busy schedule however, even his father struggles to keep regular contact.

“I'm actually quite far removed from Mathieu. I only hear his program when you all hear it. I don't call Mathieu," Adrie van der Poel, accomplished ex-pro in his own right, reveals in conversation at Cycloo Cycling Café, with Erik Dekker. “We send some text messages to each other about how things are going. I try to let Mathieu go as much as possible."

Van der Poel senior's hands-off approach to his son's career is something he's made a concerted effort to adopt. "I'm not one of those fathers who always asks: have you trained yet today?” he explains. “When I ask something, I often get very short answers. 'Yes', 'No' or a thumbs up. He now lives in Spain for a large part of the year and you sometimes miss that contact.”

They do occasionally still share a moment or two together though. “Just before they left for Spain, I said that I expected him to come and have dinner with his girlfriend. I would cook because that's what I like to do. In the end we went to a restaurant, but I like being together with the whole family," Adrie recalls warmly. “We don't need much, but when he spends 7 weeks in Spain like now, I do miss him just dropping by to refill the water bottles.”

“Mathieu has a lot of contact with his brother David. I shouldn't bother Mathieu too much either. He is in Spain to do his work and he has to ensure that he is in shape from Sanremo to Liège. He doesn't achieve that if I'm constantly sitting on his lip,” he concludes.