Tadej Pogačar 'decides' on Mathieu van der Poel's cyclocross future
As if it were a given, many watched Mathieu van der Poel’s eighth cyclocross world title. After a winter in which he was again dominant and managed to win all thirteen cross races, the winner seemed almost certain beforehand. What 'MVDP' does is exceptional. It’s definitely not as if he just ‘playfully’ rides to win a new rainbow jersey.
Behind this world title lies an incredible amount of work. It may seem like he just rides to the local shop to pick up another gold medal, but this success is backed by months of hard work and many sacrifices. Anyone who has seen him train in the area around Calpe, Spain in recent weeks knows that Mathieu van der Poel is a champion who leaves nothing to chance. Every training day is an exam for him to reach his peak form.
He mentioned this in the press conference after his golden race. The World Championships in recent years have always been his first peak of the season—not only physically but also mentally. “This is a day when I want to be in top form. I don’t want to start here at 90 percent of my ability. That’s not enough. Many people underestimate how much work goes into this first peak in form.”
Compared to his early years, there is now much more work involved in his cyclocross season. This is mainly because he starts his cross season later. “I train harder and definitely put in more hours,” he confirms.
In January, he has been training in Spain in recent years with two important goals in mind. First comes that coveted peak for the cyclocross World Championships, but in current professional cycling, he also needs to specifically prepare for the spring Monuments in the spring.
“I’m not going to say that this combination is difficult, because in the past I’ve proven I can successfully combine these two goals. However, nowadays you continuously have to think about improvement. You need to perform better than the previous year to stay at the top. You have to keep making progress.”
In cyclocross, the level at the top has somewhat stabilized in recent years. On the road, however, the level has only risen. Over the past three years, Tadej Pogačar in particular has raised the bar in the classics even higher.
In recent years, no one has ridden up the Oude Kwaremont harder than the Slovenian. In Milan-San Remo, ‘Pogi’ and his UAE Emirates team have pushed the pace on the Cipressa so high that it has become a decisive selection point again, making the finale look very different. And last year, in his first encounter with Paris-Roubaix, ‘MVDP’ immediately felt that Pogačar is setting a new standard on the brutal cobbles of ‘Le Nord’.
So far, Van der Poel has almost always had an answer to Pogačar’s strong classics performances. He won Milan-San Remo twice (2023 and 2025) while Pogačar was close by. In the Tour of Flanders, the Slovenian beat him twice, while ‘MVDP’ also took two wins in the last four years. And in Paris-Roubaix, the Dutchman got rid of Pogačar after a steering error by the best rider of this generation.
This year too, Pogačar has again set his sights on these three Monuments. Van der Poel knows he will have to prepare to face an even better version of the four-time Tour winner. With that knowledge in mind, he logically wonders whether a cyclocross season still fits into his build-up to the classics.
Especially now that he holds the record as the only cyclocross rider in history to have won eight world titles. It sounds odd to those familiar with his mindset in his early years as a professional cyclist. Nowadays, however, he is very much driven by the pursuit of records. That is why the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are now sacred to him.
He could become the first rider in history to win the Tour of Flanders four times. And in Paris-Roubaix, he could join Tom Boonen and Roger De Vlaeminck as record holders with a fourth consecutive victory.
Van der Poel definitely wants to go for this. Although now it is more about wanting rather than having to. He works harder, trains many more hours, both for cyclocross and the road season. But he also enjoys it much more, according to him. The pressure, especially as a big favorite, is still there. He now handles this much better because he no longer has to win. He has already won the big races. It’s now mainly about wanting to win more often.
“I enjoy that I have now made history in cyclocross. I can still set a few records on the road. I know I have a few years left, and I’m going to do everything to make this happen.”
Words that emphasize that the classic spring season will now be sacred to him. The upcoming cyclocross winter doesn’t seem to fit within the realization of that goal, although that decision will certainly also depend on the standard Pogačar sets next spring in the two cobbled Monuments. That is why Tadej Pogačar can ‘decide’ Mathieu van der Poel’s cyclocross future in April.
