Remember that scene in Jaws with Rod Scheider? “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Mathieu van der Poel is going to need a bigger closet at this rate.
The Dutch ace added another world championship jersey to his collection on Sunday when he dominated the 2024 UCI gravel worlds. He’s already won six cyclocross world championships as an elite and two as a junior, along with the 2023 road worlds.
But he’s not stopping there.
A fine addition to his collection
Van der Poel told WielerFlits that he is considering participating in the MTB world championships in 2025—and he wants to win and add to his collection.
He has made some bids for major MTB victories in his career—notably at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he crashed out—but recently, he’s focused on road and cyclo-cross.
I am once again asking you to appreciate Mathieu van der Poel’s otherworldly power
The 2025 worlds in Rwanda hardly suit him—there’s almost 5,500 meters of climbing. While the worlds in Zurich had some punchy sections he could excel in, he believes Rwanda is too challenging.
“I’m not sure it makes sense to go to Africa,” he said. However, he does want to give the MTB worlds a shot, which will be held in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, just before the road worlds.
Even on a TT bike, Mathieu van der Poel has absolutely bonkers skills
“I’ve never hidden the fact that I really want that mountain bike world title. It has become a bit more difficult since road racing has taken priority. It depends on how I can schedule the season, but it would be great if I could finally make it a real goal,” he said.
A season bookended with big wins
Van der Poel had a stellar spring in his rainbow jersey, including big wins at Paris-Roubaix and Flanders. After a relatively quiet summer in terms of results, he secured a win at the Tour of Luxembourg and finished third at the 2024 UCI world championships, which were won by Tadej Pogačar.
With his high level of fitness heading into the gravel worlds, he was the odds-on favorite, and he certainly delivered, achieving a fine solo win in Belgium.
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