"Whenever I come back from a training camp with him, I’m always in good shape" - Jordi Meeus feels the benefits of Mathieu van der Poel's friendship
Cycling
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's preparation for the 2025 season is starting to step up with a winter training camp. One of those riders with hopes of taking great success in the coming year, is sprinter Jordi Meeus.
Speaking to Wieler Revue at a Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe press day, Meeus gave an insight into his expectations for 2025 and how good friend Mathieu van der Poel has benefitted his career through intense training rides.
"I can’t start training with Mathieu too early though, because you have to be at a certain level to be comfortable with him. He always trains very hard," Meeus explains. "The first few weeks that I was in Spain, I did go with him, but certainly not every day. That would have been too much for me. I’ve been training with Mathieu for a few years now, and whenever I come back from a training camp where I cycled a lot with him, I’m always in good shape myself.”
“His basic pace is definitely a lot higher than that of the average cyclist. And when he blocks, you notice that he recovers from that very quickly. Those are the differences that I notice between us,” Meeus continues, noting how training with Van der Poel also allows the Belgian to stay out of the spotlight as the world champion takes the attention of fans. "Because of those rainbow stripes on his sleeves. Then they can see straight away that it's him. We regularly have to sit in a tactical place to drink coffee. Not in places that are too busy, but we know the places where you definitely shouldn't go on the weekend."
In 2025 though, Meeus is determined to keep making a name for himself. “The goal is the same as last year: win one of the top classics," he insists. "I want to continue that line and be even more consistent. In any case, I want to get even closer to that first place. Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix are the goals. Maybe the Tour of Flanders will fit within my capabilities in the future, but for now it is still too tough. I also saw that Tadej Pogacar is going to participate again… Then it will be more of a climbing race with cobblestones.”
