At the age of 29, Mathieu van der Poel has been named Dutch Cyclist of the Year for the fourth time in his career. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider remains at the top of the Dutch sport thanks to his cobbles double (Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix) and Gravel world title.
Although he will not win the Velo d'Or award, which is reserved for Tadej Pogacar who has completed the best year in the history of cycling, van der Poel's season is still worthy of recognition, and in his home country they did not want to miss the opportunity to award him for it, as reported by Wielerflits.
In fact, in the conversation to decide who has been the second best rider of the year overall, Mathieu van der Poel can fight a sensational Remco Evenepoel for the title. In the first half of the season, the Dutchman was unbeatable, and at the World Championships he finished ahead of the younger Belgian.
Van der Poel took victory in 2 monuments, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, both with overwhelming superiority, after handing teammate Jasper Philipsen the biggest win of his career at Milano-Sanremo.
In addition, as already mentioned, although he was unable to retain the world champion's jersey, Mathieu van der Poel came third at the Zurich World Championships, winning the reduced sprint for a meritorious bronze medal. Only Pogacar and Ben O'Connor were ahead of him.
Looking forward to an equally good 2025
As of today, the Dutch rider seems to be the only one who can stand up to Tadej Pogacar in the major classics on the calendar. In the 2025 season, van der Poel is aiming to be one of the big stars of the peloton again, and after that a more than possible 5th Dutch Cyclist of the Year title.
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