Mathieu van der Poel facts for kids
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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 rides for the UCI WorldTeam Alpecin–Deceuninck. Mathieu is famous for competing in many types of cycling. These include cyclo-cross, mountain biking, gravel, and road racing.
Van der Poel has won many big titles. He has won seven Cyclo-cross World Championships. He also won one Gravel World Championship in 2024. In 2023, he won a Road World Championship. This makes him the only male cyclist to be a World Champion in three different types of cycling. He has also won stages in major grand tours. He has many wins in important classic races. This includes winning the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix three times each. He also won Milan–San Remo twice. His competition with Wout van Aert is one of the most exciting in cycling.
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About Mathieu van der Poel
Mathieu van der Poel was born in Kapellen, Belgium. He comes from a family of amazing cyclists. His brother, David, was also a strong cyclo-cross rider. David won the National Under-23 Championships in 2013.
Mathieu's father, Adri, was a professional cyclist too. He won the World Cyclo-cross Championship in 1996. Adri also won stages in the Tour de France. He won several Classic races during his career.
His grandfather on his mother's side was Raymond Poulidor. Raymond was a famous French cyclist. He won the 1964 Vuelta a España. He also finished second in the Tour de France three times. He placed third five times.
Mathieu's Cycling Journey
Early Years in Cycling
Junior Success in Cyclo-cross and Road Racing
Mathieu van der Poel started cyclo-cross racing in 2009. He quickly showed how talented he was. 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. He won the Dutch Novice Time Trial Championships.
When he moved to junior racing, he was even more dominant. He won almost every race. He also won junior titles at the National, European, and World Championships. He won these races by a lot.
In 2012, Mathieu won his first overall road race. This was at the Ronde des Vallées. He also finished ninth in the junior road race at the World Championships. His 2012–13 cyclo-cross season was perfect. He won all thirty races he competed in. He defended his European and Dutch titles.
Becoming a World Champion
In 2013, Van der Poel made history. He became the first cyclist to win the junior cyclo-cross world title twice. He won the race in Louisville, Kentucky. Later, in the 2013 road season, he raced for the Dutch national team. He won stages in several races. He also won the Dutch National Junior Road Race Championships.
His strong performance continued. He won the Trophée Centre Morbihan overall. He also dominated the Grand Prix Rüebliland. He won three out of four stages there. This made him a top favorite for the World Championships. He won the gold medal in the junior road race. He attacked on the final lap and rode solo to victory.
Professional Cycling Career
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Van der Poel moved to the under-23 category in 2013. He won his first race in this class. He also won a World Cup race in Tábor, Czech Republic. He became the first rider since 2004 to win an under-23 World Cup race as a first-year rider. He also won a silver medal at the European Cyclo-cross Championships.
He became a professional cyclist in 2014. He joined the BKCP–Powerplus team. He had already raced against professionals in 2013. He finished second in two of those races. He won his first professional cyclo-cross race in Heerlen. A few weeks later, he won his first professional road race. This was the Ronde van Limburg.
Mathieu also started competing in mountain biking. He aimed for 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, he won a silver medal in the road race.
2019: First Major Road Wins
In 2019, Van der Poel won the 2019 Dwars door Vlaanderen race. He also won the 2019 Grand Prix de Denain. He attacked from a small group and rode alone to the finish.
At the 2019 Amstel Gold Race, Van der Poel showed his amazing strength. He was part of a chase group. In the last kilometer, he caught the leaders and won the sprint. It was a very exciting finish.
2020: Tour of Flanders Victory
In October 2020, Van der Poel won the 2020 Tour of Flanders. He outsprinted his rival, Wout van Aert. They had broken away from the main group together.
2021: Tour de France and Yellow Jersey
In 2021, Van der Poel raced in his first major stage race, the 2021 Tour de France. He won the second stage and earned the yellow jersey. He wore this leader's jersey for six days. He also briefly held the King of the Mountain jersey.
He competed in the Mountain Biking event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He crashed on a descent during the first lap. He continued racing but later pulled out. Due to back problems, he did not defend his title at the 2021 Tour of Britain. He won 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: Second Tour of Flanders Win
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After resting for three months due to back pain, Van der Poel started his 2022 season. He finished third at Milan–San Remo. He won a stage at the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali. He also won the Dwars door Vlaanderen.
At the Ronde van Vlaanderen, he and Tadej Pogačar broke away. They rode together to the finish. Van der Poel won the sprint in a thrilling finish.
He then raced in the Giro d'Italia. This was his second major stage race. He won the first stage and wore the pink leader's jersey for three days. He also won the overall Combativity Award for being the most aggressive rider.
2023: Road World Champion
Van der Poel started 2023 with a cyclo-cross win. He won the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships for the fifth time. He won after a close sprint against Wout van Aert.
At Milan–San Remo, Van der Poel attacked on the final climb. He rode solo to win the race. In April, he 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, Van der Poel won the elite men's road race. This was at the 2023 UCI Road World Championships in Glasgow. He attacked from the leading group. Even after a crash, he extended his lead and won the gold medal.
2024: Roubaix-Flanders Double Win
Van der Poel began his 2024 road season at Milan-San Remo. He helped his teammate Jasper Philipsen win the sprint. He had a very strong season in the cobbled classics. 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.
He returned to defend his title at the 2024 UCI Road World Championships. He won the bronze medal, finishing third. In October, Van der Poel won the UCI Gravel World Championships. He rode solo to victory, winning his eighth world championship across three different types of cycling.
2025: More Major Wins
During the winter cyclo-cross season, Van der Poel won every race he entered. He won the world championships in Liévin. He led most of the race and finished far ahead of Wout van Aert. This was his seventh cyclo-cross world championship, tying a record.
Van der Poel started his 2025 road season by winning the Ename Samyn Classic. He then won the 2025 Milan-San Remo. He outsprinted Filippo Ganna and Tadej Pogačar. This was his second win at this race and his seventh major "monument" victory.
He won his eighth monument victory at Paris-Roubaix. He rode away from the group and won by over a minute. He became only the third rider to win this race three times in a row.
Van der Poel returned to mountain bike racing. He raced at the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Nove Mesto. He crashed twice and had to leave the race. He fractured a bone in his wrist. Despite the injury, he still planned to prepare for the world championships.
He returned in time for the Critérium du Dauphiné. He finished in the top 10 in most stages. At the 2025 Tour de France, he helped his teammate Jasper Philipsen win a stage. Then, Van der Poel won stage 2 himself. He won a sprint against Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. This was his first Tour de France stage win in four years. He also earned the yellow jersey again.
Rivalries in Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel vs. Wout van Aert
Mathieu van der Poel and Belgian cyclist Wout van Aert have been rivals for over ten years. They compete in both cyclo-cross and road races. Their rivalry is one of the most famous in cycling history. In cyclo-cross, they have been the best riders. Van Aert won three world championships from 2016-2018. Van der Poel won seven between 2015 and 2025.
In road racing, Van der Poel has often done better than Van Aert in the big "Monument" races and World Championships. However, Van Aert is seen as a more all-around rider. He is often better in sprint finishes, time trials, and long climbs.
Sponsorships
Van der Poel is sponsored by Richard Mille, a luxury watch brand. He wore one of their expensive watches when he won his seventh cyclo-cross world championship.
Career Highlights
See also
In Spanish: Mathieu van der Poel para niños
