Is it possible to combine road cycling and cyclocross? "Both disciplines make each other stronger" Mathieu van der Poel believes

Mathieu van der Poel is the reigning cyclocross and road race World champion and a superstar of the sport. Not only does he believe that it is possible to combine the two disciplines, but he argues that doing so makes him evolve in both simultaneously.

"So far I have already won more than I dreamed of and I am trying to add some more big victories, such as a few Monuments. The Olympic Games are also an extra goal this season, even though my 'targets' remain the same this season," van der Poel said in an interview with My World of Cycling. "The [Olympic] Games only take place once every four years and the course should also suit me."

The Mountain Bike Olympic Games are definitely one race that has so far eluded the Dutchman, which he will try to succeed in this summer. Arguably, the road race course in Paris suits him very well, but he will likely race both in an attempt to seek a gold medal. A hard task, also one that will be hard in the MTB discipline where he does not spend anywhere near the time on the mountain bike in comparison to other rivals he'll face.

"At first, [cyclocross] world titles in the field were my main goal, but then I shifted my focus to the classics, which also brought a rainbow jersey on the road into view." Van der Poel did go on to conquer this jersey in Glasgow last year in a tremendously popular victory. "That jersey is simply one of the greatest things you can achieve in cycling and I hope to add a few more to my list of achievements."

Now just over a month ago, he went on to net his sixth rainbow jersey in Cyclocross. "The Cyclocross World Championships and the Road World Championships can be combined together, because they are far apart. Moreover, both disciplines make each other stronger," he says. "During the road season you simply get stronger in preparation for the cyclocross season and during the cyclocross season you work on your technique and your acceleration, which you need in the last hour of a classic."

"The mountain bike World Championships are in the middle of my busy summer program on the road. I also need more time to adapt and reach my top level on the mountain bike, because you are on a different bike and that is a big change," he says of the third discipline where he's had success in the past, but not as much as in the other two. "Last season I certainly tried, but a week after my world title I had a stupid crash at the MTB World Championships. So you see that not everything always goes the way you want."