Mathieu van der Poel adds fat tyre racing to Classics and Tour de France goals ‘I really want to win

“It’s the last piece of the puzzle that I’m missing. I really want to win the mountain bike world title. And with the Worlds in Rwanda, it’s ideal to focus only on mountain biking.”

Van der Poel won his record-equalling seventh elite men’s cyclocross world title in early February and then enjoyed a break from racing and some playing golf time skiing. He was a little ill in Spain but shrugged off any problems for his season debut and Classics goals.

“It’s nothing to worry about. After the Cyclocross World Championships I already felt that illness coming on,” he said.

“I start in Tirreno and that seems to me the best preparation for Milan-San Remo,” Van der Poel confirmed, after initially considering riding Paris-Nice.

“It has gone well in the past, so I think a one-week stage race is good to get into the best shape.”

Van der Poel won Milan-San Remo in 2023 and helped teammate Jasper Philispen win a sprint victory in 2024. They will team up again in Italy and then at Paris-Roubaix. The Dutchman will also ride the E3 Saxo Classic before targeting repeat victories at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

“We will look at a race like Dwars door Vlaanderen later. It is also not certain yet that I will start in Gent-Wevelgem. I would rather win the Tour of Flanders a fourth time than a first time in Wevelgem,” van der Poel said, confirming he will not race on in April and ride the Ardennes Classics.

Van der Poel’s spring ambitions align with opponents Wout Van Aert and Tadej Pogačar. During a recent reconnaissance tour to northern Europe, the Slovenian even hinted at the possibility of riding Paris-Roubaix.

Van der Poel could win a record-breaking fourth Tour of Flanders but he is not interested in the record or his rivals.

“I’m focused on winning the race, the record is a consequence of that. Like the Cyclocross World Championships, everything that comes with it now is a bonus. That is why I can work towards it in a relaxed way,” van der Poel explained.

“I don’t know what Tadej’s plans are for Roubaix. If he has the form he had for Flanders last year, then he’ll be a tough opponent but I’m not losing any sleep over it.

“You have to be 110 percent to beat him at Flanders. I had good legs, but he still dropped me on the Oude Kwaremont. But the more good riders at the start, the better, because then the race will fall into place.”

Van van Poel had intimated that he would boycott the 2025 Tour de France after struggling through the event last year and failing to win a stage. However, the Tour appears to be quite important to Alpecin-Decuninck, so van der Poel will return, this time partnering with Philipsen, who will compete for the sprint stages and the first yellow jersey in Lille, northern France.

Three weeks of rigorous racing will also lay the groundwork for a subsequent summer of mountain biking.

“It will be my fifth Tour. There are opportunities for me and Jasper in the first week. Hopefully, I can win another stage victory,” van der Poel said.