"I didn't expect him to ride eleven races" - Expert surprised by the extent of Mathieu van der Poel's cyclocross schedule

The winter cyclocross schedule of world champion Mathieu van der Poel has finally been confirmed and it's fair to say, the extent of it is slightly more than most people had expected. In total, the Dutch superstar will take on 11 races, including the 2025 Cyclocross World Championships.

"The news hit like a bomb," reacts Eurosport expert Jeroen Vanbelleghem in his analysis of Van der Poel's programme for the coming weeks and months. "At the end of last season, Mathieu indicated that he was a bit fed up with the fuss about cyclocross. He was referring mainly to the fans who expect a lot from him."

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Because of this, Vanbelleghem is surprised by such a busy calendar. "I didn't expect him to ride eleven races. I had maybe counted on four or five times, with the World Championship as the highlight. But he probably started to get the itch again in Spain," the expert explains. "After all, he has always raced around the Christmas period in recent years with great competitions in a fantastic atmosphere. For us as cyclocross enthusiasts that is of course very nice."

As touched upon, the highlight of Van der Poel's winter is going to be the Cyclocross Qorld Championships where the Dutchman is likely to start as the heavy favourite to take a record-equalling 7th Rainbow Jersey in the discipline. "He wants to become world champion for the seventh time and probably have that record alone after that. I think he might skip a cross winter after that, although I hope not of course," Vanbelleghem assesses. 

And with four showdowns between Van der Poel and arch-rival Wout van Aert, there is much for the cyclocross fans to get excited for. "I am very happy with these duels. It will be four hours of enjoyment," concludes Vanbelleghem. "And it has been a very nice season so far. It will only get better. The cyclocross is more fun than ever."

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