Mathieu van der Poel: “I have some talent that I got when I was born but at a certain point talent is not enough.”

When someone wins as much as Mathieu van der Poel does, it can be easy to forget just how much those wins still mean. To see the deeper emotions beyond the celebration at the line. For a rider like van der Poel, who has won seemingly at will and, with generations of iconic cyclists in his family, seemed destined to do so since, as he says “almost before I could walk,” this is no less true.

For This is Home, Shimano taps into those emotions. This isn’t an MTV Cribs surface-level look at fancy cars, a lot of trophies and a really long highlights reel. This is “home” in the the deeper sense, a home that is a life on bikes.

That life goes far beyond being born talented. As van der Poel gets into in This is Home, talent is not enough in the current generation of super-star cyclists that are re-defining the sport.

From dirt to rainbows and … back to dirt?

All of this come though the lenses of Squamish, B.C. media house, Anthill Films and iconic North Vancouver photographer Sterling Lorence. Despite their out sized rolls in documenting mountain biking over the last 25-plus years, squeezing a bit of dirt into This is Home isn’t forced. Though there are a few more gratuitous slow-mo shots than you might expect a few days before Paris-Roubaix.

“It’s no secret that becoming mountain bike world champion is maybe now the highest thing on my list.”

Hmmm, maybe the slow-mo isn’t gratuitous? Maybe this is van der Poel teasing a more serious return to mountain biking after years of just sort of dipping a toe in as world championships approach? The closing quote certainly seems like a hint.

Paris-Roubaix looms

Because of course, a historic fourth consecutive Paris-Roubaix this weekend is also on the list. To do that, he’ll have to combine something never done before with something he’s yet to do this year. The Dutch star is up against a seemingly unstoppable Tadej Pogacar and has yet to get the better of the Slovenian in 2026.

Anyway, dive in: This is Home visits Mathieu van der Poel.

This is home: Mathieu van der Poel

What’s Shimano say about Mathieu van der Poel’s This is Home 

Ahead of Mathieu’s bid to become the first rider ever to win four consecutive Paris-Roubaix titles, SHIMANO releases “This is Home,” a new short film featuring Mathieu van der Poel,…