Mathieu van der Poel wants to ´make the gap smaller to Tadej Pogacar - "I sometimes ride behind him too"
CyclingWednesday, 25 December 2024 at 10:58
Mathieu van der Poel will have to face Tadej Pogacar once again next spring and this motivates him to improve further. The cyclocross World Champion has been thus far unmatched in his first two races, but he was asked about the spring this Monday after the Zilvermeercross Mol and tackled the subject of the Slovenian.
"...I have the impression that people still like the fact that I am racing again. That is a nice feeling," van der Poel told Wielerflits. “Because of what I have achieved on the road, I think that people now look at my performances differently. You can say that it is dominant, but you sometimes see that on the road with Tadej Pogacar. I sometimes ride behind him too.”
On the road van der Poel is one of the very few riders who is also occasionally dominant, winning both cobbled monuments with ease this year - although largely this was because Wout van Aert and Visma were heavily affected by crashes and illnesses.
In 2023 he lost to Pogacar in Flanders, and this year the UAE Team Emirates took a leap in his performances. This can make him unbeatable in 2025 in any race that features proper climbing - even if it's the ones that suit the Dutchman well. “Look, I know how it can feel, and that is precisely the reason to work even harder and make the gap smaller. That is what I am going to try to do towards the spring classics. It is a nice challenge and a nice point of work for myself.”
At the World Championships course Pogacar was better suited to handle all that climbing, and van der Poel knew it would've been very hard to succeed. “Yes, certainly at the World Championship on the road it was not only behind Pogacar, but with a whole peloton. That did not work either. You noticed that if someone stands out, there is not always anything you can do about it. But you always have to assume that someone can be beaten. I will definitely try to do that in the spring.”
There have been comments over the past day that van der Poel looks stronger than last year in his debut in Zonhoven. He answers: "... I don't look at it, but I do feel that I've become stronger. Compared to before, I can ride one or two gears higher on the tough sections, purely on power. I can feel that. Last year before the cross season I had already had some indications that I was okay in training, I didn't really have that this year. It was more of a question mark than then, so in that respect I didn't really expect it.”
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Two races, two days, two wins 🏆🏆
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) December 23, 2024
World champion Mathieu Van der Poel has made a typically dominant start to his cross season.
📸 Getty Images pic.twitter.com/naFd7DGUyj
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- He didn't have the legs to stay with the top guys in case you hadn't read that !frieders305-05-2025
- Of course the dimensions have to be checked as long as pro cycling continues to be defined by a traditional bicycle definition, otherwise you open the door to all sorts of weird vehicles, like recumbants to keep the technical side easy. Obviously there can ve a completely different procedure for the check than how it was carried out here. If all went according to how reported, the team/rider should sue the official/UCI for result manipulation, this incident shows among other things, how the door is (left) wide open to corrupting officials to disadvantage people. Would be so easy to do those checks well without stressing riders. Maybe the triathlon system would be a solution ?Mistermaumau04-05-2025
- Agreed! I had forgotten about that moment, a rare misfire by UAE.RidesHills04-05-2025
- The UCI thinks that all of these formalities make it look like they're in control of things, but incidents like this one actually make them look like bumbling, incompetent fools.
santiagobenites04-05-2025 - He's one of the nicest and most humble guys at the top of the sport. Perhaps should have won another stage race already this year but for questionable UAE tactics when Buitrago got away and stole GC.Renz04-05-2025
- Completely Stupid decision yesterday of trying to help his teammateabstractengineer04-05-2025
- What a solid season he has had so far. I wasn’t really noticing bust just checked his stats. He has done only GC races, and placed 2-2-6-1-1 in them. Every single one in the top 10, and only one off the podium? That is solid work. Would have been nice to win yesterday, of course, (a solid climbing stage) but it set him up for today’s GC win. Congrats.RidesHills04-05-2025
- When are the UCI going to get rid of these ridiculous bike checks? I can understand that they would want to check for motors, but surely it makes no sense to have a rider sit on a bike that complies to a set dimension rather than have the bike set up to suit each the riders unique biomechanical needs. What is the purpose of such a dumb process? Is it just something for the guys in blazers to do?Cyclingsbestfan04-05-2025
- Speaking of “Holland” or Denmark flat, isn’t it interesting that they can produce good climbers?Mistermaumau04-05-2025
- I believe I have a pretty good idea what they’re experimenting with. It’s something that won’t work with everyone but can work REALLY well with the right personality.Mistermaumau04-05-2025
I'm loving the level of competition and the compositions of teams in 2025. Sure Pogi had an historic 2024. Slate is clean in 2025. And lots of great athletes--MvdP, Vingo, Primoz, Remco, Marc Hircshi, Pidcock, Carlos Rodriquez--and strong teams want to win.
I think Pogi will have another great season in 2025. But I think we will talk about others having great seasons too. Who? I don't know. I'll watch the classics and tours and will root for spirited competition.
yeah, i’m not sure you can say that van der poel was so dominant in the spring “because van aert wasn’t there.” who knows how wout would have farted against mathieu in those races, because HE WASN’T THERE. wout has never beaten mvdp in any cobbled monument, but maybe he would have IF HE’D BEEN THERE. maybe, just like mads, et al, he’d have gotten smoked. we’ll never know, BECAUSE…
MvdP is just afraid losing Pogi on his sight. Since 2023 Tour of Flanders is a nightmare for him when he dropped.
You are dreaming. MvdP has won Flanders 3 times and come second twice, once against the Pog in a very close race. He has convincingly beaten the Pog directly in MSR twice as well.
i don’t know about it being a “nightmare” for mathieu, but he did lose. flanders is a similar nightmare i suppose for almost anyone who gets dropped on the paterberg at the end. very hard to chase back.
When I ask AI "Has Tadej Pogacar ever raced cyclocross against Mathieu van der Poel?", the answer says NO. Is that really true? Wonder how they would do when clearly in van der Poel's territory.
Pog doesn’t do xc, might never try and has admitted he’d have no chance against MVDP in this. Shame really because I’m sure quite a few fans would enjoy watching him try and it would complicate the discussion of who is more complete which almost completely ignores off-road talent.
Anyway, merr Xmas to all, keep next season in mind as you let go at the table the next days ;-)
yeah, agree. on the subject of being a “complete rider,” i do think that’s getting more interesting. mathieu seems to have decided he wants to get much better at climbing the the high mountain passes. he appears to be looking for new challenges, which should be interesting to watch. in most cases you’d dismiss a goal like that at age 30, but it’s mvdp. he’s never going to climb with the real climbers, but if he can improve enough it could open up stage wins when the parcours isnt just purely toothy and punchy.
By the way AI can only answer what it knows and there are many things it doesn’t and will never know.
Veni Vidi Vici
Again, again and again..........