Mathieu van der Poel on Tadej Pogacar: "I hope he will not improve any further next season"

Mathieu van der Poel is at the La Nucia Gran Fondo this weekend where, in his off-season, he is having fun. He raced against a Rally driver this Saturday and today he takes to the road with the likes of Alejandro Valverde beside him, making good use of the weather in southern Spain. At the time being the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider is relaxing before beginning to prepare the upcoming season; but the Tour de France is anything but certain and he also talks about Tadej Pogacar.

"It may be an exaggeration to say that I was not happy during the Tour, but it was not really a nice time. During my debut in the Tour I immediately took the yellow jersey. This year I struggled to reach my best level, although it was not that bad either. I know I'm better in one-day races and that's where my focus lies," van der Poel shared with Marca.

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He is not thinking much about 2025 yet, when asked if he would return to the Tour de France he responded: "We don't know yet. It depends on how my season goes. Next summer might be a good time to start mountain biking again, if I have the time. That's still a big goal". This very much opens the path for him not to take part in the Grand Boucle, where over the past two years he's had only a leadout role for Jasper Philipsen but hasn't been able to achieve results of his won.

The classics are where he thrives, and after winning both Flanders and Roubaix this year, it's going to be hard to replicate it, specially with Tadej Pogacar set to start in the Belgian monument. "I've raced against Tadej twice in the Tour of Flanders and we always raced at the front. He's a tough rival, but I like that. He goes to the limit in the race and I like that. I hope he will not improve any further next season,” the Dutchman jokes.

“He has had one of the most impressive seasons in the history of our sport. I am sure he is very satisfied." Van der Poel, two-time defending champion of Paris-Roubaix, was also asked if he believes his rival will eventually race the 'Hell of the North' in search of that elusive monument. "I have no doubt about that. In the cobblestone stage in the Tour de France he already showed that he is also super strong on cobblestones.”

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Erik Dekker

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