"Maybe next year you see me here" - Mathieu van der Poel teases possible Vuelta a Espana debut
Cycling
This past weekend, Mathieu van der Poel was in La Nucia to participate in the criterium that was also attended by Alejandro Valverde or Pablo Castrillo. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was the main protagonist in Alicante and was asked about a possible Vuelta a España debut, to which he had an interesting response.
One of them was told by the Dutchman to AS colleagues. According to Mathieu van der Poel, plans for the 2025 season can include competing in the Vuelta a España.
"Already for this last season we seriously considered it," van der Poel began when asked about his participation in La Vuelta. "But with all the other goals I had it was difficult for me, so maybe next year you see me here."
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Mathieu van der Poel has never competed in the Vuelta a España. The former world champion (now the rainbow jersey belongs to Tadej Pogacar) has raced 4 times the Tour de France, namely the last editions in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, and only once the Giro d'Italia, in 2022. He admitted this weekend that the Tour de France is definitely not a certainty next year as he's struggled to achieve results there and prefers to focus on the one-day races and perhaps take up mountain biking again.
But the Alpecin-Deceuninck star has never tackled the Spanish grand tour. One of the reasons the Dutchman wants to take part in La Vuelta may be because at the Tour de France his role is limited to being Jasper Philipsen's launcher for the sprints. In Spain, van der Poel could enjoy his own opportunities with more suiting stages and a more modest startlist - both when it comes to sprinters, classics specialists and breakaway opportunists.
Although the dream of the Vuelta a España is not confirmed, what Mathieu van der Poel was able to affirm is that in 2025 one of his main objectives will be to go for the 7th monument of his career. This is what he said when asked about the races he already knows he will participate in.
"The goal will be similar to previous years, because the results are going well like that. One of the big ones will be to try to add another monument to my palmarès," said the 3-time winner of the Tour of Flanders (2020, 2022 and 2024), 2 of Paris-Roubaix (2023 and 2024) and 1 of Milano-Sanremo (2023).
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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.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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#Calendrier 📆 / 🇳🇱 Mathieu van der Poel (ADC) suggère qu'il pourrait louper le Tour de France l'été prochain pour se focaliser sur le VTT. Il souhaiterait viser le titre mondial, le seul qui lui manque (déjà titré sur route, en gravel et en cyclo-cross). 📷 P. Humbert
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