"Sanremo, Roubaix, Tour de France stages and the yellow jersey — he nailed everything”: Mathieu van der Poel didn’t put a foot wrong in 2025, claims Italian ex-pro

Mathieu van der Poel’s 2025 season was as close to flawless as cycling gets. Victories at Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix, two stage wins and the yellow jersey at the Tour de France — all achieved with a trademark blend of aggression and mastery that has come to define the Dutchman’s racing style.

For Italian former professional Moreno Moser, now a commentator with Eurosport, it was the season of a rider who has learned to fully exploit his physical gifts — and, crucially, to accept his limits. Speaking to Bici.Pro, Moser offered a detailed dissection of what makes Van der Poel such a unique force in modern cycling.

“I don’t think Van der Poel makes mistakes,” Moser explained. “On the contrary, I think he’s one of the riders who best optimises his own characteristics and his engine.”

Where others see only raw power, Moser sees a delicate balance — a rider who must manage his immense strength carefully to avoid burning out. “His ‘engine’ is more delicate than Pogacar’s,” he said. “Tadej can go strong every day and recover whenever he needs to. Van der Poel gives the impression of having a more fragile system: if he overdoes it, he blows up. In stage races he can have one great day, but not two in a row. And climbing really costs him — those extra watts take a heavy toll.”

That physiological difference, Moser suggests, defines Van der Poel’s profile as a racer. “He’s a classic glycolytic rider,” he explained — a rider built for explosive, high-intensity efforts rather than sustained aerobic power. “He doesn’t have the same aerobic capacity as Pogacar or the pure climbers, but he’s incredibly powerful and full of fast-twitch fibres. When his supply of sugars runs low, his efficiency drops off a cliff.”

It’s a distinction that explains why Van der Poel thrives on the cobbles but fades over long mountain stages, why he can destroy fields in one-day races but struggles to repeat those efforts across multi-day events. “In stage races he never fully recovers,” Moser added. “Those easier days at the back of the peloton are vital for him.”

For Moser, the contrast between stage racing and one-day performance is stark — and deliberate. “On a single day, when he’s in form, he can do whatever he wants,” he said. “He makes perfect use of the carbohydrates he starts with. In stage races, the recovery deficit catches up with him.”

That’s why, Moser continued, nutrition is especially crucial for a powerful rider like Van der Poel. “Being able to take in 120–130 grams of carbohydrates per hour is massive for him. He benefits far more than a lighter climber like Pogacar. His muscles can then deliver high-quality work because the fuel is high quality too. We’re talking tiny margins, but they’re exactly what define one type of rider from another.”

Even with that understanding of his limits, Van der Poel remains one of the sport’s most attacking riders. His 2022 Giro d’Italia — a campaign of relentless aggression that yielded just one stage win — is often cited as an example of over-exuberance. But for Moser, that’s simply part of who he is. “At times he could ration his efforts a bit better,” Moser conceded, “but that’s his way of racing. Spending energy every day means he’ll pay for it in the finales, especially when there’s a little climb, as often happens at the Giro. Still, when he attacks, he’s a killer — even on the short climbs.”

When comparing Van der Poel to his long-time rival Wout van Aert, Moser is clear: “Wout is heavier, but he’s a stronger climber. Yet Van der Poel still has something extra. Van Aert is more of a hybrid, but when it comes to winning, Mathieu always has that decisive edge.”

The 2025 season, he insists, left nothing to criticise. “He didn’t put a foot wrong,” Moser said. “He won Milano–Sanremo and Roubaix, took stages and wore yellow at the Tour — that’s a perfect season.”

Despite missing the latter part of the season, Van der Poel’s impact remained unquestionable. For Moser, one of the Dutchman’s greatest strengths lies in his mentality — his willingness to take on the sport’s biggest names head-to-head. “When he’s in good shape, he’s not afraid and shows no reverence towards Pogacar,” said Moser. “He goes at him face to face. Think about it: the only rider to beat Pogacar on the road this year was Van der Poel. I love that he’s so incisive and decisive.”

That fearlessness, combined with almost unmatched bike-handling, is what makes him so compelling to watch. “What impresses me most is his ease on the bike,” Moser continued. “Anyone who’s raced will notice it straight away. Not even Pogacar has that same fluidity. He knows how to move through the bunch, how to position himself, how to hit climbs from the front. In that respect, Van der Poel is truly one of a kind.”

If 2025 will be remembered for anything, it’s how Van der Poel turned selectivity into supremacy. With just 41 race days, he still claimed two Monuments, Tour stages, and the maillot jaune, plus Classics victories and a stage success at the Renewi Tour — proof that, when his engine is perfectly tuned, nobody in the world can match his combination of power, precision, and poise.

As Moser put it: “He’s learned to optimise his characteristics better than anyone. When he’s good, he doesn’t just win — he dominates.”