Shuffle-Wednesday at Alpecin: Del Grosso "steals" Van der Poel's training partner while Mathieu sneaks into Red Bull's training
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel was once again invincible to regular humans the past cyclocross season with an impressive 13 out of 13 record. In the final race of the winter, the Dutchman put his name in the history books with his eighth cyclocross world title. And the best news for Dutch fans is that even if the 31-year-old were to stop racing now (which he clearly doesn't plan to), his successor Tibor del Grosso seems more than ready to take his place. Both in and out of competition.
While he's not racing, you'd be typically find Van der Poel in the cyclist winter resort in the Calpe area, often accompanied on his rides by a former professional Freddy Ovett. Also in his today's activity, he was accompanied by Alpecin-Premier Tech jersey, but quite surprisingly it was Mathieu's younger teammate Del Grosso!
The 22-year-old joined Ovett for a 92-kilometer gravel ride at a relatively moderate pace (for a professional cyclist!) around Girona. And to add to the mix-ups, Van der Poel infilitrated Red Bull's training session on the same day!
The team of Remco Evenpoel was pictured on a group training session, surrounding one blue Alpecin jersey in their center. The Belgian himself was apparently riding alone 5 minutes behind the cluster of riders, perhaps preparing for the races ahead when he'll need to play catch with a certain Slovenian...
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- That sucks for him. I've always wondered what guys like him do after retiring from cycling - go back to uni? He's still a very young manCrashjames03-11-2026
- Good Point, I wonder if he's been testedmhfrvz03-11-2026
- A busy boy!Lozza03-11-2026
- I hope 2027 is his year.mij03-11-2026
- why does he have to? many GT riders from Froome to Contador to Indurain didn't do them.mij03-11-2026
- I think Jonas would have lost the TDF by 4+ minutes (at the least) and might not have even been in the top 3. Too much talent in the younger riders to say anyone not named Pogačar would have been top 3md197503-11-2026
- this is just stupid. you already have 23%, gravel is over the topabstractengineer03-11-2026
- There was once a time when Lance was supremely popular and he used his artificial "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life" persona to lead his mob in going after Greg. There was no one Lance did not abuse in protecting his phony hero image. Lance promoted himself as a divine megastar and he let down millions of cancer victims and gullible devotees who clung far too long to the charade. Lance is the epitome of a corrupt person and because of his power, many around him, including business enterprises, succumbed to the evil. All who got in Armstrong's way were mercilessly attacked by him and his minions. This remarkably continues today with a new generation. LeMond was a number one enemy and paid a huge price. Who do you think slandered who?Yepperoni03-11-2026
- You despise him because he calls out the truth....OK clown !frieders303-11-2026
- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026
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MVDP today on training with Red Bull team 😏💙 According to Patrick, Remco was riding slower 5 minutes behind this group. Probably different type of training. 📷: patrick__mork
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