Speculation around Mathieu van der Poel’s cyclocross future resurfaced again after his eighth world title, although the rider himself has been careful not to commit to any firm plans. Speaking after the world championships, Dutch national coach Gerben de Knegt suggested there is still plenty left to come from the Alpecin–Premier Tech leader.
“After the finish I jokingly said to him: eight is very nice, but ten is even better,” De Knegt told WielerFlits the day after the race. “As you know, he likes round numbers.” According to the national coach, Van der Poel did not respond directly to that comment, but he did clarify earlier remarks about a possible winter without cyclocross. “Mathieu said that he once mentioned that a winter without cross might be interesting, but that he did not say that he actually decides this. Or that he will stop after next year.”
De Knegt is also aware that younger riders such as Tibor Del Grosso and Thibau Nys are closing the gap.
“When we talked about it on Sunday, Mathieu said that the successor was next to him and pointed to Tibor,” he said. Still, De Knegt believes Van der Poel’s competitive edge remains decisive. “Mathieu is an ultimate winner. If he starts to lose at some point in a season, I can imagine that he finds it less cool.”
At 31, De Knegt sees no physical reason for Van der Poel to step away yet. “He himself says that he likes cyclocross more than ever,” he said. “If you look at him now, he is glowing with health. He looks super fit. If he continues to like the sport, we should only cherish that someone with his record will race in the winter.”
Van der Poel himself responded–basically right after the race finished, no less, whether that would be his last ‘cross race. (Honestly, he had just towelled himself off and that was one of the first questions to the Dutchman.)
Given that the ‘cross season is 10 months away, his answer was simple. “I still have time,” he said. “It will be a long time before the next cross season is close again.”
Right before Christmas, van der Poel–who is, without a doubt, the greatest male ‘cross racer in history, said, “there’s not much left to win” in the discipline. He did admit that retiring from ‘cross is still “an option.”
It’s possible that he may race ‘cross next year, he said, but how much–or how little, isn’t clear yet. The toll of racing a somewhat full season not only affects his road training, but adds additional stress to what is supposed to be the off-season. And, he said, it’s not clear if it helps–or hinders, his spring. (I mean, he does pretty well in the Classics as it is.)
“He’s said it himself — Tadej Pogačar doesn’t race ‘cross and still rides a great spring,” Adri Van der Poel said. “And the pressure is always there. The more you win, the closer the first loss feels.”
It would be something if he simply trained all winter in Spain, then jumped into a couple of ‘cross races. He even said he may only do the worlds next year. Can you imagine that? Skipping the entire season just to defend your rainbow jersey? Now that is true panache if he pulls it off. For now though, van der Poel is taking a few days off the bike and skiing before he returns his focus to the road and upcoming season.