"With Mathieu as leader you simply ride there to win" - The Netherlands now aim to win Montréal World Championships
Cycling
The World Championships come within the space of three weeks, a key period of the season in which Worlds, Europeans and Il Lombardia take place in consecutive weekends. For most of the World Tour riders, it's a last-minute bid to improve a season, and Mathieu van der Poel is aiming for the rainbow jersey in Montréal.
"It will be a bit on the edge. But he should definitely be able to handle it," Dutch national coach Koos Moerenhout said in words to NOS. "It is a little comparable to Zürich, and he took a medal there as well. There are absolutely opportunities".
Moorenhout does not believe Tadej Pogacar will be the obvious man to beat if he does make the trip to Canada. "If he is there, his preparation has obviously been badly disrupted. But there are plenty of other contenders. The Belgian team of course, with Remco Evenepoel at the front".
Montréal is going to be a race that is incredibly similar to the yearly GP de Montréal, which traditionally favours the climbers but also sees classics specialists carry chances of fighting for the first places.
With the likely absence of Tadej Pogacar from the road race in Montréal, the chances open up for the entire field - and a very open race might follow with favourites in Remco Evenepoel, Tom Pidcock... Potentially even van der Poel himself.
Mathieu van der Poel will lead the Netherlands at the Montréal World Championships
With van der Poel on the team, the Netherlands race to win
"I think it is a bit more open now. You try to set the selection up for that, with a few more controlling riders, but also riders who can read the race and follow it into the finale."
The Dutch team will not feature many top climbers or classics specialists, but the race is expected to be very selective, and it might not come as much of an obstacle for the consolidated monument conquerer.
For the Netherlands, now, the only goal is to win at the men's elite road race. "With Mathieu as leader you simply ride there to win."
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No Thymen Arensman in Montréal
Mathijs Paaschens, Menno Huising, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Bauke Mollema, Tim van Dijke, Bart Lemmen and Daan Hoole will be the support crew for the Dutchman.
For Mollema, one of the last races of his career: "Bauke is simply super professional and does a good preparation. You can assume he will be good."
A notable absence is Thymen Arensman, which the national team coach went on to explain. "Thymen is certainly a rider I would like to have at a race like this. But after the Giro and the Tour, Thymen and his team made a different choice," he said, hinting at Netcompany INEOS' decision.
"I definitely have an opinion about that, yes. But it says something about how cycling has evolved. For me the Worlds are the highest. You do not have to convince me of that".
"But there are also team interests," he states. "So in recent years it is not only about whether you want to come, but whether you can, whether it fits within your programme."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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