"The best thing that could have happened to him" - Did a night at jail improve Mathieu van der Poel's career? Brother David believes so

There are few people that know Mathieu van der Poel as well as his brother David, himself a former professional cyclocross rider and someone who's often had good insight on the Dutchman's stories and insight. He notes that the night spent in jail ahead of the 2022 World Championships in Wollongong might have been a career-changing moment for the Alpecin-Premier Tech - but in a good way.

In a year where Mathieu had won the Tour of Flanders, a stage at the Giro d'Italia and a few other triumphs throughout the year - a modest season comparing to his current standards, he headed into Australia as one of the big favourites to win the rainbow stripes in a hilly Wollongong circuit. However, things did not go his way, and he in fact began the race already after absolute turmoil.

The night before he was being bothered by two teenagers in the hotel hallway and at a certain point came out of his room chasing them. This in itself was already a major disturbance but what followed was worst, as he was arrested and taken to jail the night before the big race. Whilst it wrecked his entire trip to Australia, where he only briefly began the race before abandoning it, it was a key moment in the Dutchman's career.

"I have never seen Mathieu so sad and insecure. He was in a very bad place," David said in an interview with AD. "That's when the realization hit, 'from now on, I'm going to give it my all'. He started training even harder and didn't let any more opportunities slip away. That cell in Australia was the best thing that could have happened to him. In hindsight".

Briefly after the Dutchman also moved to Spain and what has been following is a streak of years where hasn't been ill or injured often, allowing him to continuously increase his level, starting out from a level that was already world-class.

"I think there are very few riders who do as much for their sport as Mathieu. He used to have that before, mind you. But in recent years, a huge amount of motivation has been added to that".

His pursuit for big victories, records (such as the one he just achieved at the cyclocross World Championships) and further progress has been successful and allows him to stay at the very top of cycling. This is also due to the rivals he has on the road which force him to continuously have to improve to keep his position. "Wout van Aert has always pushed him to the limit, and now he is having another sporting battle with Tadej Pogacar".

Hence, van der Poel has been a very detail-oriented rider, not just someone who was born with incredible genetics that allowed him to be one of the best even without the full devotion to the sport.

"He had been winning throughout his entire career. Everything worked for him. Until he was 20, he was able to rely heavily on talent," David admits. But to that, he says that there has been an evolution, and that Mathieu isn't who he was often painted to be behind the scenes.

"Back then, he would win races even when riding tactically foolishly, because he was so much better than the rest. He got the label that he was just messing around. The image of a playboy who supposedly didn't listen to his trainer and just did whatever."