Mathieu van der Poel facts for kids
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Mathieu van der Poel at the 2024 UCI Road World Championships
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| Personal information | |||
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| Full name | Mathieu van der Poel | ||
| Nickname | MVDP The Flying Dutchman |
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| Born | 19 January 1995 Kapellen, Belgium |
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| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft +1⁄2 in) | ||
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb; 11 st 11 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Alpecin–Deceuninck | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
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| Major wins | |||
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Mathieu van der Poel (born 19 January 1995) is a professional cyclist from the Netherlands. He was born in Belgium. He rides for the UCI WorldTeam Alpecin–Deceuninck. Mathieu is special because he competes in three different types of cycling: cyclo-cross, mountain biking, and road racing.
He has won many important races. Mathieu has won the Cyclo-cross World Championships six times. He also won the Gravel World Championship in 2024. In road racing, he won the Road World Championship in 2023. He has won stages in big races like the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia. He is also famous for winning many "classics" races, including the Tour of Flanders three times and Paris-Roubaix twice. His friendly competition with fellow cyclist Wout van Aert is one of the most exciting in the sport!
Contents
About Mathieu van der Poel
Family Background
Mathieu van der Poel was born in Kapellen, Belgium. Cycling runs in his family! His brother, David, was also a good cyclo-cross racer. Their father, Adri, was a professional cyclist too. Adri won the World Cyclo-cross Championship in 1996. He also won stages in the Tour de France.
Mathieu's grandfather on his mother's side was the famous French cyclist Raymond Poulidor. Raymond won the 1964 Vuelta a España. He also finished second three times and third five times in the Tour de France.
Mathieu's Cycling Journey
Junior Successes
Early Wins in Cyclo-cross
Mathieu started racing cyclo-cross in 2009. He quickly showed he was a natural. In his first season, he finished second at the National Championships. The next year, he won every race he entered! He also started road racing in 2011 and won a time trial championship.
When he moved to junior races, he was almost unbeatable. He won the junior titles at the National, European, and World Championships. He won these races by a lot!
Becoming a Junior World Champion
In 2012, Mathieu won his first big road race, the Ronde des Vallées. He also raced in the junior road race at the World Championships. He was the best Dutch rider, finishing ninth.
His 2012–13 cyclo-cross season was perfect. He raced 30 times and won every single one! He defended his European title and his Dutch title. He became the first cyclist to win the junior world title two years in a row. He won the race in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2013.
In 2013, Mathieu also did very well in road races. He won stages and overall titles in many junior events. He won the Dutch National Junior Road Race Championships. His amazing form made him a favorite for the World Championships. He attacked on the last lap and won the gold medal in the junior road race.
Professional Career
Starting as a Pro Cyclist
Mathieu moved up to the under-23 category in 2013. He won his first race in this class. He also won his first World Cup race in Tábor, Czech Republic. This made him the first first-year rider to win an under-23 World Cup race since 2004.
He became a professional cyclist with the BKCP–Powerplus team in 2014. He joined his brother David on the team. Even before turning pro, he raced against older professionals. He finished second in two races, showing his great talent.
In 2014, he won the overall under-23 World Cup title. He also got his first professional win in a cyclo-cross race in Heerlen. A few weeks later, he won his first professional road race, the Ronde van Limburg.
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Mountain Biking and European Silver
Mathieu also started racing mountain bikes. He wanted to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In 2017, he finished second in a World Cup race. In 2018, he finished second overall in the World Cup series. He also won the Dutch National Mountain Bike Championship.
At the 2018 European Cycling Championships in Glasgow, Mathieu raced in both mountain bike and road race events. He won a silver medal in the road race.
2019: First Big Classic Wins
In 2019, Mathieu won the 2019 Dwars door Vlaanderen. He also won the 2019 Grand Prix de Denain. He attacked from a small group and rode alone for the last eight kilometers to win.
At the 2019 Amstel Gold Race, Mathieu made an amazing comeback. Two riders were far ahead, but they slowed down near the end. Mathieu led a chase group that caught them in the last kilometer. He then sprinted to win the race!
2020: Winning the Tour of Flanders
In October 2020, Mathieu won the 2020 Tour of Flanders. He was in a breakaway with Wout van Aert and Julian Alaphillipe. After Alaphillipe crashed, Mathieu and Wout sprinted to the finish, with Mathieu taking the win.
2021: Tour de France and Olympic Challenge
In 2021, Mathieu raced in his first major stage race, the 2021 Tour de France. He won the second stage and got to wear the famous yellow jersey for six days! He also wore the King of the Mountain jersey for one day.
Mathieu competed in the Mountain Biking event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He crashed early in the race because a ramp he expected was not there. He tried to continue but had to stop later.
He had some back problems that year, which affected his racing. He still managed to win the 2021 Antwerp Port Epic. He finished eighth at the 2021 UCI Road World Championships. He also took third place at the muddy 2021 Paris–Roubaix.
2022: Another Tour of Flanders Victory
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After resting his back, Mathieu started his 2022 season. He finished third at Milan–San Remo. He also won a stage in the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali. He then won the Dwars door Vlaanderen.
At the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Mathieu and Tadej Pogačar broke away from the main group. They rode together to the finish. In a close sprint, Mathieu won the race for the second time!
He then raced in the Giro d'Italia, his second Grand Tour. He won the first stage and wore the pink leader's jersey for three days. He also won the award for the most combative rider.
2023: Road World Champion
Mathieu started 2023 by winning a cyclo-cross race. He won two more races and then won the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships for the fifth time! He won after a very close sprint against Wout van Aert.
At Milan–San Remo, Mathieu attacked on the final climb. He left his rivals behind and rode alone to win the race.
In April, Mathieu won Paris-Roubaix. He set a new speed record for the race! He also finished second in the Tour of Flanders.
On August 6, 2023, Mathieu van der Poel won the elite men's road race at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow. He attacked from the leading group and rode away to win alone, even after a small crash.
2024: Double Wins in Classics
Mathieu started his 2024 road season at Milan-San Remo. He helped his teammate Jasper Philipsen win the race.
He had a very strong season in the "cobbled classics" races. He won the E3 Saxo Classic. He finished second at Gent–Wevelgem. Then, he won the Tour of Flanders for a record-tying third time! The next week, he won Paris-Roubaix for the second year in a row.
In October, Mathieu won the UCI Gravel World Championships. He rode away from his competitor and won alone. This was his eighth world championship title across three different types of cycling!
Career achievements
See also
In Spanish: Mathieu van der Poel para niños
