Mathieu van der Poel can end cycling career at USA's Olympic Games: "It would be great to try to finish in LA on the mountain bike"
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel, already a six-time cyclocross world champion, has a chance to claim his seventh title this season. In addition to his dominance in cyclocross, Van der Poel has proven his versatility by winning the road world championship and the gravel world championship earlier this year. However, there remains one glaring omission from his rainbow jersey collection: the mountain biking world title.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck superstar has made no secret of his ambition to prioritise mountain biking this year. “If I could choose, I would like to become world champion mountain biker this year. I haven't succeeded yet and it keeps playing in the back of my mind," Van der Poel admitted to Sporza.
In addition to the world title, an Olympic gold medal in mountain biking also eludes him, a goal he hopes to achieve before retiring from the sport. Reflecting on his Olympic ambitions, Van der Poel said, "I have one more chance for that: Los Angeles 2028."
“LA will almost certainly be the last Games I participate in,” calculated Van der Poel, who will be 33 by then. “It would be great to try to finish in LA on the mountain bike.”
If Van der Poel was able to achieve yet another world title in another category, he would move even further to status as the greatest all round rider on two wheels. The question is, could 2025 be the Dutchman’s year for mountain biking?
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- Good on him for saying so; there's more to pro cycling than the Tour. The XCO World title is one still missing, so why not target that? However, Crans-Montana is really technical, and he will need plenty of time training and racing back on the MTB if he's going to go close. We know what happens with poor prep - crashes. This isn't CX, where you can turn up and win - the top MTB riders have got skills and MTB isn't just about watts......wipperman9507-01-2025
- Referring to his past few years he tried or had to be in top shape 10 out of 12 months, with some pretty annoying injuries, how many others manage(d) that? You have a right to be greedy but he’s not racing for you so is there much point in asking expecting hoping, it’s like writing to a potential doper saying please don’t.Jumpyjohn07-01-2025
- he can do what he wants, and if he can state his feelings, so can I. and my feeling is, it is fun to see the best riders in the biggest race. there are always stages to go after. and racing is more fun with an MVDP to cheer for. and to the point of the other guy, he raced 7 races prior. he will do 11 or so cross races. yes he races to win, but as a fan I would really love to see him in the race. I'm being greedy admittedly. to the point of vappaxbipmv, he isn't exactly racing his legs off with the races he has been doing.mij07-01-2025
- Well not his last year, but my argument is he can't he win the Tour. Remember this thread during the upcoming Tour, btw, I do admire Primoz.awp07-01-2025
- He did a convincing display at Ancares doing peak numbers even without optimal preparation in a team that is weaker in grand tours. Sure he's getting older but the narrative that he's in his last year is ridiculous.alsene07-01-2025
- He is not anti-doping. He is pro-whining. He is more than happy to cheer for the dopers he likes and believe in the miracles he likes.
MarkFour06-01-2025 - Froome has found a genuine way to race slow .. no further gears restrictions needed for him. And speaking about safety - this overnight packfodder to GT winner should start with holding the tt bars while descending with both hands. What a clown!!
UltimateOpportunist06-01-2025 - Nice, yeah, if you’re around a 6-7% gradient when they attack you’re not going to see much, it’s not for nothing the steepest sections are so crowded. If on TV you see an overweight fan running along for more than 30m you know they’re nowhere near that speed there;-)Mistermaumau06-01-2025
- Merry Crossmas to you tooMistermaumau06-01-2025
- I respect his anti-doping stance but in trying to rehash everything he’s no longer looking at the changes. It’ not just one or two riders who suddenly improved, the whole peleton has gone through an upgrade. For sure there are still cheaters, may e even amongst the very best but a large part of the improvement is generic and explainable. Even racing itself has changed. There is progress in EVERY sport, constantly, why would cycling be the odd one out?Mistermaumau06-01-2025