Mathieu van der Poel is one of the most talented riders to get on a bike in current days, and although that comes with tremendous benefits, it also brings in difficult choices. The 2024 Paris Olympics may be one of them, as it is believed that he will once again try to take the Olympic title in XCO.
His dad, Adrie van der Poel has told Wielerflits of the basic plan for the coming years. “Combining the three disciplines has resulted in a busy program in recent years. Not in terms of race days, but in terms of preparation. In a more limited training period, he had to make the transition from one discipline to another, which nevertheless required the necessary adjustments," he said.
The challenge of adjusting to different disciplines and manage to have perfect preparation for all is close to impossible, so there will be a choice to make into the 2024 Olympics. “The switch from road to cross bike is easy to do, but on a mountain bike you have a different attitude. That combination is quite difficult. Also because you always have to fight for your starting position for the most important mountain bike races," he added.
After crashing out of the Olympic Mountain Bike race back in 2021, the Dutchman has not yet returned to the MTB. He is also not planned to do so this year as he puts his full ambitions on the road, and over the winter should have another stint in cyclocross.
"...I think the Olympics are still running through Mathieu's mind, but I don't hear about it right now. Let alone that he thinks about an approach towards Paris. Still, I don't rule out the possibility that he wants to go for this again," he admits. No matter what happens there are still around two years left for the event, so plenty of time to choose what the best option will be.
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