"It's pushing him to the limit" - Dutch coach believes Mathieu van der Poel can succeed at European Championships
Cycling
As it is everywhere he goes, Mathieu van der Poel will immediately draw massive attention in case he'd participate at the European Championships in Ardéche. The organizers however prepared a hard course, maybe a bit too hard for the Classics expert? In any case, the Dutch national team coach Koos Moerenhout is ready to play his cards with Van der Poel as his ace, it seems.
But how does the race fall into the Dutchman's own plans? Van der Poel made it clear in long advance that the mountain bike world title is his absolute main goal for autumn. For that reason, we won't see the 30-year-old at the World Championships in Kigali two weeks later. But there is no extensive travelling asociated with the Continental Championships.
"Normally, it's penciled in on my schedule, but we'll have to wait and see how things go in the coming period," said Van der Poel about his potential participation in Ardeche before Renewi Tour two weeks ago. Since then, things have been moving in the right direction for the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider who won a stage at the Belgian stage race and finished 6th in XCO during World Cup in Les Gets - his best result in four years.
Good news for Moerenhout who can suddenly breathe easier when putting together a team for the championship. "When a rider like Mathieu puts his hand up, that's always good news," laughed the national coach at WielerFlits.
Is it a race for MvdP?
European Championships organizer Guillaume Delpech's statement during the Tour de France was clear. "I think the course is too tough for Van der Poel," he said, looking more towards Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard as triumph candidates.
"I also did a reconnaissance myself, of course," Moerenhout explains. "I reported my findings to the Dutch riders. Mathieu included. And yes, the course is really pushing him to the limit. That's for sure. But is it impossible? I don't think so."
Mathieu van der Poel had to bow before Tadej Pogacar in Zurich, and the Slovenian will be the man to beat also in France
If the other favourites look at each other instead of pushing the pace, Van der Poel could survive until the decisive moments of the race. "It really depends on how the riders race. But that whole story starts with you: does Mathieu consider himself a good candidate, or not? And do you believe in that yourself as a rider? That's something he has to ask himself. But speaking for myself, I see opportunities pretty quickly with riders of Mathieu's caliber."
So the course isn't exactly Mathieu's cup of tea. "But then again, the World Championships in Zurich weren't his cup of tea either. There were doubts up front whether he could handle it, but he proved it with a bronze medal."
"One of Van der Poel's greatest strengths is his ability to recover very quickly," Moerenhout analyzes. "In that respect, the final climb at the European Championships suits him better than the longer climb earlier in the course. The men essentially ride six laps around Valence, skipping the long climb in the final three laps. It remains challenging, but that's a significant difference."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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