Mathieu van der Poel confirms no Lombardia; World Championships his final race of the season; And laments Wout van Aert's absence from Europeans
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel spoke to Sporza ahead of the European Championship in Limburg where he says he will miss Wout van Aert in order to toughen up the race and that he will have no problem putting himself at the service of Olav Kooij to try to help the Netherlands win if he must.
He admits that he spent time in Spain getting in shape and that his level is very good. However, he does not know exactly what level he is at right now: "I did a lot of long training in Spain. I am happy with my level at the moment. I have prepared for this European Championships in the same way I face my other goals. It's hard to know what my chances are." Gauging by his frequent return to racing at the start of the season only at Milano-Sanremo - where he's often showed good form, we can assume the World Champion will be lively in the cobbles of this Sunday's race.
The race is not too difficult however and van der Poel admits that it would be very beneficial to have an ally such as van Aert so as to increase his chances of staying away in case he is to make differences in the hard part of the race.
So he'll try to get away in the hard part and if he can't, he'll work for team sprinter Olav Kooij at the end likely as the last leadout: "It's a pity that Wout is not here. He would have been a good ally in the middle part of the race . If I can't make the difference, I'll play the leader for Olav Kooij."
Zurich, last race of the year
Regarding the Zurich World Championships, he makes it clear that he is not the big favorite to retain the rainbow jersey he won last year in Glasgow, although he obviously does not rule out the possibility of winning.
"I'm not the big favorite for the World Championships. The course looks very demanding, but not impossible. I've worked as hard as I can to defend the rainbow jersey. The World Championships will be my last road race of the season."
It was rumored that he would race Il Lombardia, but he has made it clear that the World Championships will be his last road race before tackling his cyclocross season...
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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🇳🇱 Mathieu van der Poel might race 🌈 Gravel Worlds this year. "It is on my schedule with a questionmark behind it. It depends on how the races go. It's on my mind for a while. We will decide after Zürich." About 🇪🇺 Euros: "I will have a free role in the middle part."
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