Wout Poels opens up about his to XDS Astana Team and goals for 2025: “That is my big challenge to win a stage in all three Grand Tours”
Cycling
Wout Poels, the 37-year-old veteran who has achieved prestigious victories at the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2016, is entering a new chapter of his career with the XDS Astana Team. Speaking with WielerFlits, Poels reflected on his motivations, past challenges, and ambitions for the upcoming season, including his goal of completing stage victories in all three Grand Tours.
After his departure from Bahrain Victorious, where he faced frustrations last year, Poels spoke candidly about why the move to XDS Astana was the right decision. “At XDS Astana, I have more influence on my own program. It is better to have a motivated rider who has a say in his program than someone who gets everything spoon-fed to him and goes to certain races with a certain reluctance. So yes, for me the choice was quickly made.”
This sense of agency was particularly important to Poels following a disappointing experience in 2024, where he was removed from Bahrain Victorious’s Giro d’Italia squad in favour of riders with different priorities. “I was taken out of the Giro team at the last minute and I never had a very clear reason why. They needed a different type of rider and besides that they could use me well in the Tour de France next to Santiago Buitrago,” he explained. “Let me be honest, I was really upset about that. No, I didn’t shout it from the rooftops. I could have made a lot of noise, but then you’re also shooting yourself in the foot. Although I didn’t feel well for about two weeks because of that decision.”
The removal was particularly frustrating for Poels, who had targeted the Giro as a major goal. “I wanted to show that my form was good at that moment,” he admitted. While he eventually shifted his focus to the Tour de France, where he supported Buitrago, the experience left a lasting impact. “Breaking point is a big word, but that certainly played a role. You make a list of pros and cons and then you also look at other offers. I asked myself the question: ‘What do I still want to do?’”
Looking ahead to 2024 with his new team, Poels is determined to achieve his long-standing goal of winning a stage in all three Grand Tours. “Of course the Giro is the main goal, which I think is still a very realistic goal. That is my big challenge to win a stage in all three Grand Tours. But besides that, I want to ride well in every race. I like to fight for the prizes and I want to get the best out of myself everywhere. Whether that is at WorldTour level or a division lower like last year in Hungary. I am currently having a good winter and I actually want to be there right from the start of the season. Just like I won the Ruta del Sol in 2022.”
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- Isn't the riders comming from indoor e-sport cycling crashing a lot?Jkolner12308-01-2025
- Right... Unless the two people above consider 2 Paris Roubaix and 3 Ronde meaningless... You don't win that many editions by being lucky.alsene08-01-2025
- Call it how you want, in order to win which matters to him, even if it’s for the team as lead-out, he has to and tries to be in top shape 10 out of 12 months, whether that’s a bunch of peaks, a couple of prolonged peaks or just that his general level is so good he can win anytime without peaking is a new discussion.Jumpyjohn08-01-2025
- I think he’s right and mental attitude is one of the biggest factors at elite level, especially over 3 weeks.Jumpyjohn08-01-2025
- Enforcing cease and desist isn't working. The site is still live (8 Jan 13:55 CET)leodis08-01-2025
- You’re both right but also both (me too) biased by this endless indoctrination through the expectations of others (no cyclist is worth mentioning without a tdf legacy) and sorry Fred but the part about him having to win the whole thing is misguided, Cavendish is venerated by most and he might not have even reached 50th in the how many editions he did (about double Merckxs). As rightly said Mathieu rides for HIMSELF (aside obligations) take it or leave it, I really don’t think he (and most others, even Cav or Pog) lie around in bed at night worrying or strategising about how to cement a place in history. We are lucky to witness a period where some of the best cyclists are (aside from money) motivated in the right way, you can often see in the authentic way they celebrate crossing the line after a huge effort, MVDPs are some of the best, 100% dedication, my favourite was the communion with his grandfather when he won that stage, it was visibly (worth seeing again if available) so powerful, I even think the only reason he tried the TdF at all (he’d never really shown any interest personally and I’m pretty sure it was a business “obligation” was in hommage to his grandfather who meant so much to him. Once done I think he realised he doesn’t enjoy it (should he (any of us actually) force himself to do a job he isn’t enjoying?) and saw no more reason to continue but being open he accepted to try something new, lead-out man and did it admirably. His riding career has now probably “peaked” and he’ll want to focus on those things personally still important before it’s too late and leads to regrets. I am sure he’ll regret his luck/carelessness at Olympics more than anything TdF related and among future goals, that will be his number 1 rectification target and sorry for those TdF obsessors (who often watch nothing else all year) but for many the Olympics are more important than eg the Tour, no matter what the majority of cycling thinks, and they have that right.Mistermaumau08-01-2025
- To MVDP, even if he wins 10 stages of the TDF, if he can't be overall champion (GC), he still loses.. so he thinks he has nothing to gain. He'd rather win a hundred minor races than frustrate himself trying to win the grandest race of them all. The mindset of a winner, you say? Maybe, but I don't think so. Nevertheless, he's a great cyclist. Monuments and classics, one-day races are his thing. He can ride a one-day 300 km race and win it, but a 3,500 km race spread over 21 days? Forget it.. he can win a stage or two, wear the yellow jersey for a day or two, (no mean feat, by the way) and finish in 50th place just the same, not even good enough for a podium, and he doesn't like it. To him, it's a waste of time.FredMan08-01-2025
- i’m with you on this… ALL IN for the xco world’s. a legacy of World Champion in four disciplines. that’s one for the ages…OCexile08-01-2025
- i’ve said before that i worry for mathieu’s place in history because he only has one tdf stage. cycling pundits place SO much emphasis off tdf wins that many of them still rate wva as superior to van der poel, which can ONLY be based on wout’s 9 tour wins (which impressively DO come over the whole spectrum of tdf parcours). as a fan of mvdp i wish he’d dedicate a couple years to racking up 5 or 6 more stage wins. that said, mathieu matches to his own drummer. he gets bored easily. and ultimately he’s gonna decide all in his own what does and don’t capture his interest and imagination. that’s one of the things i like BEST about him, so if he’s done with the Tour then that’s that, au revoir…OCexile08-01-2025
- I reported this in March of 2024. There was a bogus Facebook ad.davbott08-01-2025