Mathieu van der Poel (born 19 January 1995) is a Dutch professionalcyclist who rides for theUCI WorldTeamAlpecin–Deceuninck.[5] He competes in thecyclo-cross,mountain biking,gravel androad racing disciplines of the sport.
Van der Poel has won sevenCyclo-cross World Championships (2015,2019,2020,2021,2023,2024,2025), oneGravel World Championship (2024) and oneRoad World Championship (2023), becoming the only Men's World Champion in three different cycling disciplines. He has also won multiple stages atgrand tours and has numerousclassics victories, including winning both theTour of Flanders andParis-Roubaix three times, andMilan–San Remo twice. Hisrivalry with Wout van Aert is considered to be one of the great rivalries in the sport.[5]
Born inKapellen, Van der Poel comes from a family of professional cyclists; his brotherDavid was also prominent in cyclo-cross racing, winning the 2013 National Under-23 Championships inHilvarenbeek.[6] His father,Adri, is a former six-time Dutch National Champion and the World Cyclo-cross Champion for 1996; he was also twice a stage winner at theTour de France and a winner of severalClassics during his career.[7]
His maternal grandfather was French cyclistRaymond Poulidor,[8] winner of the1964 Vuelta a España, who also finished the Tour de France in runner-up position three times and in third place five times.[9]
Van der Poel made his debut in cyclo-cross during the 2009–10 season, competing in the novices ranks. He won several local races, and at the National Championships inHeerlen, Van der Poel finished in second place, fifteen seconds behind champion Erik Kramer.[10] During the 2010–11 season, Van der Poel won all of the races that he contested; he also combined this with racing on the road in the summer of 2011, and won the Dutch Novice Time Trial Championships inZwartemeer. The following winter, Van der Poel advanced to the junior ranks, and was immediately dominant in this season; out of all the races he contested, he failed to finish first on only four occasions. He also claimed the junior titles at National,[11]European,[12] andWorld Championship level,[13] each one by a convincing margin.[14]
During the 2012 road season, Van der Poel got his first general classification victory[15] at the Ronde des Vallées; he also won the young rider classification at the same race. Van der Poel was a member of theDutch World Championship squad, when he competed in the junior road race; he finished within the 56-rider main group, and as the best-placed Dutch rider, in ninth position.[16] Picking up where he left off the previous winter, Van der Poel's 2012–13 cyclo-cross campaign was flawless; he contested thirty races, and won every single one of them.[17] Having defended his European title in the United Kingdom,[18] Van der Poel maintained his Dutch title inHilvarenbeek on the same day that his brother David won the Under-23 Championships.[6]
The month after winning his Dutch title, Van der Poel became the first cyclist to defend his junior world title, by winningthe race in Louisville, Kentucky, ahead of teammateMartijn Budding.[19] In the 2013 road season, Van der Poel contested several Nations' Cup Juniors events for the Dutch national team. At the Course de la Paix, Van der Poel won the opening stage[20] in a six-rider select group; he held the race lead into the following day, whereMads Pedersen assumed the race lead for the remainder of the race in an individual time trial aroundTřebenice. Van der Poel finished third, behind Pedersen andLogan Owen.[21] His next appearance came at the Grand Prix Général Patton, where he soloed – from 14 km (8.7 mi) remaining[22] – to a six-second victory on the race's second and final stage inWincrange, en route to finishing second place overall, five seconds adrift of race-winnerChristoffer Lisson of Denmark.[22][23] In the process, he also won the points and mountains sub-classifications.[23]
Van der Poel booked stage victories at the Ain'Ternational–Rhône Alpes–Valromey Tour; riding for Enerthem-BKCP, he won a five-rider sprint on the opener,[24] and defeated France'sÉlie Gesbert in a head-to-head finish on the final stage,[25] to take the overall race victory by almost half a minute from Gesbert.[26] Prior to his next Nations Cup appearance, Van der Poel won the Dutch National Junior Road Race Championships inChaam.[27] At the Trophée Centre Morbihan, Van der Poel won the race overall,[28] having defended the race lead from the start, after winning a head-to-head sprint against Belarus'Aleksandr Riabushenko on the opening stage.[28] In the lead up to theWorld Championships, Van der Poel dominated the Grand Prix Rüebliland event, as he won the opening three of the race's four stages.[29] He won a three-rider sprint inBettwil to win the opening stage,[29] before a solo victory the following day inLeutwil,[29] and a victory in a 9 km (5.6 mi)individual time trial inHunzenschwil.[29] Pedersen got the better of Van der Poel in a bunch sprint on the final stage, but Van der Poel had done enough to win the race overall by 46 seconds over Pedersen.[29]
This form made Van der Poel one of the favourites for the World Championships,[30] where he would lead theDutch squad. In addition to competing in the road race, Van der Poel contested the junior time trial race for the Netherlands, along withSam Oomen. Van der Poel finished 50th out of the 84 riders to complete the course, over two minutes down on the eventual world championIgor Decraene of Belgium.[31] In the road race, Van der Poel attacked on the final lap,[32] and bridged up to the race leaderFranck Bonnamour of France; he later distanced him on the final climb of Via Salviati – around 5 km (3.1 mi) from the finish – and soloed away to win the gold medal,[7] ahead of Pedersen and Albania'sNikaj Iltjan.[33][34]
.jpg)
Van der Poel moved into the under-23 category ahead of the 2013–14 cyclo-cross season.[35] In his first race in the class, Van der Poel won the GP Mario De Clercq – in theBPost Bank Trophy – atRonse, defeating nearest rival Gianni Vermeersch by twelve seconds.[36] After he finished third in his firstWorld Cup race,[37] Van der Poel won the second round of the season atTábor in the Czech Republic, beating Vermeersch once again by three seconds.[38] In the process, Van der Poel became the first rider sinceNiels Albert in 2004 to take an under-23 race victory as a first-year rider.[39] He completed a clean sweep of victories in the major cyclo-cross competitions, by winning atRuddervoorde in theSuperprestige the following day, leading home his rivals by almost a minute.[40] He won a silver medal at theUEC European Cyclo-cross Championships inMladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic,[41] finishing 23 seconds behind winner Michael Vanthourenhout.
Van der Poel turned professional with theBKCP–Powerplus team at the start of the 2014 season, joining brother David at the squad, having signed a four-year contract.[42] Prior to doing so, Van der Poel made his elite debut in theScheldecross Antwerpen,[43] in December 2013; Van der Poel was competing alongside professionals as there was no under-23 race. He finished second in the race, five seconds behind his future teammateNiels Albert,[44] having droppedPhilipp Walsleben andRob Peeters in the closing stages.[45] He again finished second to Albert ten days later in theGrand Prix De Ster Sint-Niklaas, losing out in a two-man sprint finish.[46] He ended 2013 with his fourth Superprestige victory of the season atDiegem.[47]
After finishing second toWout van Aert in his opening race of 2014 at theGrand Prix Sven Nys,[48] Van der Poel secured the overall under-23 World Cup title with his fourth win of the season, at theMemorial Romano Scotti in Rome.[49] He achieved his first professional victory at the Boels Classic Internationale Cyclo-cross inHeerlen, beating closest rivals Thijs van Amerongen andRob Peeters.[50] In his first senior road race, Van der Poel finished seventh in theOmloop der Kempen, which had finished in a sprint to the line inVeldhoven. Just a few weeks later he secured his first professional victory on the road, winning theRonde van Limburg.[51]
He began to compete in thecross-country cycling discipline of the sport having set his sights on theTokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In 2017 he placed 2nd in the World Cup atAlbstadt behind world championNino Schurter. In 2018 he raced a full World Cup season finishing 2nd in the series overall and 3rd at theWorld Championships inLenzerheide, as well as winning the Dutch National Championship.
At the2018 European Cycling Championships inGlasgow, Van der Poel competed in the cross-country mountain bike and the road race, winning a silver medal in the latter.
Van der Poel won the2019 Dwars door Vlaanderen.[52]
In March 2019, van der Poel won the2019 Grand Prix de Denain. He attacked from a leading group of three riders, includingAlex Kirsch of Luxembourg andTrek–Segafredo and EstonianMihkel Räim ofIsrael Cycling Academy, and rode over eight kilometers solo to the finish.[53]
At the2019 Amstel Gold Race, van der Poel was the first of the favourites to attack at 43 km to the finish together withGorka Izagirre, but their attempt was brought back by the peloton soon after. After the final ascent of theCauberg,Julian Alaphilippe andJakob Fuglsang had a lead of 30 seconds over the two chasers and nearly a minute over the group behind. With 3 km to go their lead was up to 40 seconds overMichał Kwiatkowski. At that point, the two in front stopped collaborating with each other, attempting to conserve energy for their final sprint. However, they were then caught in the last kilometer, first by Kwiatkowski and then by the other chase group led by Van der Poel. In the ensuing sprint, Van der Poel proved to be the strongest[54][55]
In October, van der Poel won the2020 Tour of Flanders, by outsprinting Wout van Aert. The pair had broken away with Julian Alaphillipe before the latter crashed out in an incident involving a race motorcycle.[56]
In 2021, Van der Poel competed in his first grand tour, the2021 Tour de France. Here he succeeded in winning the second stage and acquired the yellow jersey, which he wore for six days. He also secured the King of the Mountain jersey on that stage, which he held for a single day.
Van der Poel participated in theMountain Biking event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The event had seven laps, but he crashed on a descent in the first lap, as he was apparently unaware that a ramp, present during practice, had been removed.[57] He managed to continue racing, but eventually pulled out after the sixth lap, unable to make up lost time.
Due to persistent back problems, worsened by his Olympic crash, Van der Poel did not defend his title at the2021 Tour of Britain.[58] He won the 2021 edition of theAntwerp Port Epic, which he used as a trial run for the UCI World Championships.
He came eighth at the2021 UCI Road World Championships and finished his road season in the2021 Paris–Roubaix where he took the final podium place covered head to toe in mud.[59] He put an initial hold on his cyclocross season due to his continued back pain, and eventually raced twice before pulling out altogether. At his first race, the Dendermonde World Cup, he finished second behindWout van Aert. In his second and final race of the season, he crashed early on and pulled out after seven laps.[60]
In September 2021, he renewed his contract with Alpecin–Fenix until 2025.[61]
.jpg)
After three months of rest due to his back pain, Van der Poel began his 2022 season atMilan–San Remo, where he finished third.[62] He rode in theSettimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali, a five-day stage race, where he won the fourth stage.[63]
He won theDwars door Vlaanderen.[64]
At theRonde van Vlaanderen,Tadej Pogačar, making his debut at the race, attacked on the second ascent ofOude Kwaremont and theKoppenberg to pull ahead of the peloton with a select group of riders including van der Poel. Pogačar accelerated twice more on the final ascent of Oude Kwaremont and thePaterberg with only van der Poel able to go with him. The duo rode slowly inside the final kilometre as they prepared for the sprint but this action allowedDylan van Baarle andValentin Madouas to come back in the final few hundred metres before van der Poel took the win in the sprint finish.[65]
After a fourth inAmstel Gold Race[66] and a ninth inParis–Roubaix,[67] Van der Poel made his first appearance at theGiro d'Italia,[68] the second Grand Tour participation of his career. He won the opening stage and wore the pink leader's jersey for three stages.[69] He also won the overall Combativity Award.[70]
In September, Van der Poel was convicted ofcommon assault against two girls aged 13 and 14, after an incident in a hotel inSydney the night before theRoad World Championship; the conviction was overturned following appeal in December.[71]
Van der Poel began his 2023 season with a win at the X20 Trofee Herentals cyclocross race.[72] He followed this up with two further wins and two silver medals before taking part in theUCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, which he won for a fifth time after a tight sprint against Wout van Aert.[73]
AtMilan–San Remo, Van der Poel attacked at the top of thePoggio di San Remo, leaving his main rivalsWout van Aert,Tadej Pogačar andFilippo Ganna behind and soloing into the finish in San Remo.[74]
In April, Van der Poel wonParis-Roubaix, setting a new record of 46.841 km/h, an improvement of more than 1 km/h over the previous record, and finished second in theTour of Flanders.[75]
On 6 August 2023, van der Poel won theelite men's road race at the2023 UCI Road World Championships, held in Glasgow as part of the inauguralUCI Cycling World Championships. van der Poel attacked the leading group of riders including van Aert, Pogacar andMads Pedersen in the closing laps and despite suffering a crash and damaging his shoe was able to extend his lead to take solo victory.[76][77]
Van der Poel began his 2024 road season atMilan-San Remo, where Van der Poel rode for his teammateJasper Philipsen, followingTadej Pogačar's attacks over the top of the Poggio and pacing the final lead in to San Remo, where Philipsen sprinted for the win.[78]
Van der Poel had a strongcobbled classics season, winning theE3 Saxo Classic, finishing second atGent–Wevelgem, and then winning theTour of Flanders for a record-tying third time.[79][80] The next week, Van der Poel wonParis-Roubaix for the second consecutive year.[81]
Returning to defend his title, Van der Poel finished third, claiming the bronze medal at the2024 UCI Road World Championships, after winning the sprint for third place in the group behind winner Pogačar and silver medalistBen O'Connor.[82]
In October, Van der Poel won theUCI Gravel World Championships, dropping breakaway companionFlorian Vermeersch with 13 km to go and winning solo with over a minute gap.[83] This marked Van der Poel's eighth world championship across three different disciplines.
During the winter cyclo-cross season, Van der Poel won every race he participated in, culminating in winning theworld championships inLiévin.[84] Van der Poel led for the majority of the race, finishing 45 seconds ahead of rivalWout van Aert. It was Van der Poel's seventh world championship, tying the record ofErik De Vlaeminck.[85]
Van der Poel began his road season in March at theEname Samyn Classic, which he won in a bunch sprint.[86] Van der Poel won the2025 Milan-San Remo, out-sprintingFilippo Ganna andTadej Pogačar after following Pogačar's attack on theCipressa with 25 km to go.[87] It was van der Poel's second win at the race, and seventhmonument of his career.
He secured his eight monument victory with a win inParis-Roubaix after riding solo away from the fallen Pogačar with 38 kilometers to go, eventually winning by over a minute. He became the third rider in the race's history to win three consecutive editions.[88]
Having vowed to return to cross-country mountain bike racing, Van Der Poel returned to the sport at the2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup race in Nove Mesto, Czechia, but exited the race less than halfway through after crashing twice, with the second crash resulting in a fracturedscaphoid bone, he vowed to continue preparation for the world championships despite the setback.[89]
Despite the injury, Van Der Poel returned in time for his planned participation in theCritérium du Dauphiné. He finished inside the top 10 of all but two of the seven stages,[90]
At the2025 Tour de France, Van Der Poel helped lead outJasper Philipsen to the stage 1 victory before winning stage 2 in a sprint againstTadej Pogačar andJonas Vingegaard, claiming his first win at the tour in four years and the yellow jersey in the process for the second time of his career.[91]
Van der Poel and BelgianWout van Aert have competed against one another in cyclo-cross and road races for over a decade, and their rivalry is considered one of the greatest in cycling's history.[92][93] In cyclo-cross, they have dominated the discipline, with Van Aert winning three world championships from 2016-2018, and Van der Poel winning seven between 2015 and 2025. On the road, Van der Poel has consistently outperformed Van Aert inMonuments and the world championships, but Van Aert is considered the more versatile rider, as he has consistently been better in bunch sprints, time trials, and long climbs.[94]
Van der Poel is sponsored by luxury watch brandRichard Mille, and won his seventh cyclo-cross world championship while wearing a watch worth more than US$300,000.[95] In 2025, Van der Poel received criticism for his endorsement of Dutch private jet company Flying Group. In a response on social media, he wrote "I understand the environmental concerns, and I respect everyone's voice" but that flying private was critical to his sporting performance.[96][97][98]
Aside from Marianne Vos's sixth rainbow jersey in the women's race, the Dutch were top two in the juniors with Mathieu van der Poel and Martijn Budding, won the U23s thanks to a tenacious ride by Mike Teunissen, and Lars van der Haar was third in the elites.
Bij de junioren ging de titel naar Mathieu van der Poel, de zoon van oud-prof Adrie van der Poel. [In the juniors, the title went to Mathieu van der Poel, the son of former professional Adrie van der Poel.]
I knew he'd [Van der Poel] be a favorite coming into the day. He has a really good kick on that steep climb.
Van der Poel went for it again with a brutal attack on the final sector. His companions were left floundering in his wake and were swallowed up by the peloton on the run-in. The 20-second gap looked fragile but Van der Poel was in full solo time trial mode and held strong on the run-in to secure an impressive victory.
| 1950–1959 | |
|---|---|
| 1960–1979 |
|
| 1980–1999 |
|
| 2000–2019 |
|
| 2020–2039 | |
 UCI Road World Champions –Men's road race | |
|---|---|
| 1927–1938 |
|
| 1946–1959 |
|
| 1960–1979 |
|
| 1980–1999 |
|
| 2000–2019 |
|
| 2020–2039 | |
| UCI Gravel World Champions – Men's elite race | |
|---|---|
|
Milan–San Remo winners | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
|
Tour of Flanders winners | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
|
Paris–Roubaix winners | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
|
| UCI Road World Champions –Men's junior road race | |
|---|---|
|
| 1979 |
|
|---|---|
| 1980–1999 |
|
| 2000–2019 |
|
| 2020–2039 |
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
.jpg)
