As the cyclocross season ramps up, fans are eager to know when Mathieu van der Poel will return to the mud. Alpecin-Deceuninck manager Christoph Roodhooft offered a glimpse of the plan.
Roodhooft said the world champ has resumed training after a post-mountain bike world championship break in the U.S. The Dutchman ended his season early after a disappointing MTB worlds. MvdP looked good early on, but ultimately faded to 29th.
“I just had a bad day. I didn’t feel like I’d blown myself out, but it wasn’t a good day,” Van der Poel said to NOS after the race. “There are no excuses. Everything went pretty well at the start, but I haven’t been feeling great for a while. I can feel in training that I’m less resilient.”
He had hoped to add another rainbow jersey to his very, very large collection. But, not this year. MvdP also skipped the gravel worlds–a bummer as he had won them in 2024.
“He’s had a good holiday and is now preparing for his cyclocross campaign,” Roodhooft told Sporza. When Van der Poel will officially kick off his season remains under wraps. But he said the team plans to announce the schedule during the world championship presentation in Hulst. The worlds run from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1. Van der Poel, 30, has a chance to match the record with an eighth world title. Currently, he is tied for the all-time win record with Erik De Vlaeminck.
Roodhooft also updated the status of the women’s squad. Star rider Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado had to delay her season due to a knee injury. “It’s slowly improving. Last week, she joined a cross training session with the team for the first time. Things are gradually falling into place,” he said.
In the 2024-2025 season, both van der Poel and arch-rival made a late start to racing. Both riders had a severely condensed set of racing–especially the Belgian. Despite that, they were both a level up on the rest of the contenders–although rising star Thibau Nys might replace Pidcock as the third of the big three. It doesn’t sound like the Brit will jump in any ‘cross races this year.
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