Van der Poel Roasts Van Aert: Cycling Rivalry Heats Up

And so the Van der Poel family was able to triumph again last Sunday, something that of course everyone had expected. But even all that winning does not seem to keep Mathieu van der Poel in the cross world with certainty.

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Adrie winks at Van Aert

The now eight-time world champion has already indicated that he may (temporarily) stop racing. It was even thought that Van der Poel would announce this after the World Cup in Hulst. That ultimately turned out not to be true, something that father Adrie van der Poel had also predicted.

“I don’t rule out that it could eventually get to the point where he will fit in for a winter. But that he will now firmly say: ‘I will never cross again!’? No, I don’t believe that. Rather, he will let it sink in first,” he said.

In the meantime, Adrie hopes that his son will ride the World Cup within two years, he is part of the organization in Hoogerheide. Then he should be able to convince Mathieu, right? Van der Poel Sr responds with a quip to Wout van Aert.

“I don’t have to do anything,” he laughingly refers to Van Aert’s statement after the 2023 E3 on HLN. “And neither does he (Mathieu, ed.). Insisting would only be counterproductive. And we would like to organize the World Cup with this committee, not on the basis of ‘Matjes’ possible participation.

The decision will only be made later

Van der Poel was of course asked on Sunday about his intentions for the coming cross winters. However, he could not yet provide an explanation. “I honestly haven’t decided yet myself,” said the voice in the Sporza studio. “Now the winter seems long, but that is also due to the road planning. If you race longer and start again earlier, the winter will be shorter.”

“I still really enjoy cross country. I enjoy doing it and the training is fun, but it is always an intense period. It is just a thought of maybe not doing it for a year,” says MVDP.