"Mathieu is quite willing to skip a winter" - Adrie van der Poel agrees that a year off cyclocross may benefit World Champion
Cyclocross
It can be said that Mathieu van der Poel lives in a world of his own. For the past three years, he has won all but one cyclocross race that he took to the start line, but after a while it leads to competitive monotony. The World Champion may not be present next year in the discipline if he finally breaks the world championship record this February, and his father Adrie van der Poel agrees that this could be good for him.
That wasn't going to happen this year, as the Dutchman focused on the Tour de France, but then did not have many goals afterwards to prolong his season. "Mathieu will not skip cyclocross this winter if he finishes his road season early. Because then the period without competition and pressure will be very long," Adrie van der Poel told Sporza.
However under different circumstances, the Dutchman could very well do so. “If Mathieu were to ride the Vuelta, followed by a few Italian autumn races, then it might be the right time to take a winter off from cyclocross," Adrie argues. The same could be said for him aiming at the World Championships, however most years prior and ahead feature climber-suited routes where beating someone like a peak form Tadej Pogacar or Remco Evenepoel is simply not realistic for van der Poel.
At the beginning of his campaign, he admitted that he is open to that, but it depends a lot on whether he wins the World Championships this year. That would put him in a position of record-holder, with no rider having an apparent chance of matching him in a near-future. With a spotless victory rate thus far this winter, there are not many reasons to believe van der Poel will be stopped in his pursuit of another rainbow jersey.
What does Adrie think?
“I think it would be good for his head," van der Poel senior believes. There will be nothing left to achieve other than extending his records, virtually. Whilst that would more firmly plant him in the history books, it's not the absolute priority for van der Poel. His success on the road, and experimenting with a different winter, are perhaps more important by this time next year.
"It’s not about what I think is right, but what Mathieu thinks is right. He makes his own choices. It would be nicer if Mathieu were there (the Hoogerheide World Cup, organized by Adrie, ed.). But when I hear him talk, there's a chance he won't be there, because Mathieu is quite willing to skip a winter".
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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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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