Mathieu van der Poel confirmed for Tour de France and Olympic road race; no MTB participation in Paris
Cycling
Alpecin-Deceuninck have revealed the upcoming race calendars for their two most notable names, Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen.
For the Rainbow Jersey, just two races are on the programme. Firstly, van der Poel will return to the Tour de France for the fourth straight year between 29/06 and 21/07 before the Dutch superstar stays in France for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games just a couple of weeks later. Notably however, only the men's elite road race will be on the cards and not as had been though initially, the mountain bike.
“This is the most logical choice to be able to prepare for my goals without time pressure,” says van der Poel. “The combination with MTB was too difficult. But who knows, maybe in LA ‘28 I can focus on mountain biking. My ambition for the Tour de France? I hope like last year to assist teammate Jasper Philipsen in his hunt for stage wins and a possible green jersey. And the goal is to also win a stage myself this year.”
Jasper Philipsen meanwhile will be skipping the Olympic Games altogether. The Belgian will make his return to racing at the Baloise Belgium Tour (12/06 - 16/06), before staying in his homeland for the Belgian National Championships on the 23rd of June. After winning the Green Jersey last year at the Tour de France, alongside four stage wins, the 26-year-old will attempt to defend the points classification later this summer.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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