Sport

Mathieu van der Poel officially confirm schedule for 2025

Published

1 week ago

February 14, 2025

KELVIN

Alpecin-Deceuninck and Mathieu van der Poel formally confirmed the star rider’s program. The newly crowned cyclo-cross world champion hinted at his plans during the winter season, at a media day on Wednesday but they are now finalised. There are few surprises, with the big Monuments in the spring serving as the primary focus.

Van der Poel, coming off a flawless winter, is ambitiously looking ahead. He won all eight of his cyclo-cross races, including the World Championship in Liévin, France. It was his seventh world title, making him the joint record holder alongside Erik De Vlaeminck. His broken rib, sustained after crashing into a pole right after Christmas, didn’t hinder him much in cyclo-cross, so it shouldn’t pose any issues at all on the road.

That means the peloton should be wary of Van der Poel, who, in between cyclo-cross races, spent nearly his entire winter in Spain — coming back not only with tanned calves but also with excellent preparation. And as we saw in 2024, a well-prepared Van der Poel is capable of great things. Who could forget how he single-handedly helped Jasper Philipsen win Milan-San Remo? Or how he dominated by winning E3 Harelbeke, the Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix?

Which Grand Tour will Mathieu van der Poel race in 2025?

The huge question marks in Van der Poel’s itinerary are never over the spring classics. These are generally steady each year, and 2025 is no exception. This means Van der Poel will begin his road season in Tirreno-Adriatico. From there, he will compete in Milan-San Remo, E3 Harelbeke, the Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix. “Do I want to be the first to win the Tour of Flanders four times? It’s kind of like with the cyclo-cross world championships. I focus more on the race itself than on records,” said the 30-year-old rider. He will likely skip Gent-Wevelgem, while his participation in Dwars door Vlaanderen remains uncertain.

But which Grand Tour will Van der Poel race? In recent years, his post-spring schedule has varied quite a bit. In 2021, he combined the Tour de France (where he won a stage and wore the yellow jersey) with the Olympic mountain bike race. In 2022, he did the Giro d’Italia (winning a stage and wearing the pink jersey for a bit) followed by the Tour. In 2023, he completed his first full Tour de France, and in 2024, he rode it again, though in both editions, he never fully raced for himself due to physical setbacks.

In 2025, the Dutchman will ‘simply’ be back in the Tour de France. “There are opportunities for both me and Jasper Philipsen in the first week. Hopefully, I can win another stage,” Van der Poel said.

Mathieu van der Poels Cyclocross Calendar 2024/2025 - Alpecin Cycling