Van der Poel proud of his legacy - 'I’m part of the generation that changed cycling'

Mathieu van der Poel reflected on his spring campaign and looked ahead to the months to come in an interview with AS during an event hosted by sponsor Richard Mille.

The 31-year-old Dutchman began his season early with a debut at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, which he won in convincing fashion. He followed that up with victory at the E3 Saxo Classic, holding off the chasers after a tense solo effort that nearly unravelled in the closing kilometres.

The Monuments, however, proved less fruitful this year. For the first time since 2021, Van der Poel failed to win one. He finished eighth at Milan-Sanremo after being unable to follow Tadej Pogačar and Tom Pidcock on the Poggio, in a race whose script had already been torn up on the Cipressa.

At the Tour of Flanders, he was again second best to Pogačar on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, while at Paris-Roubaix, a mechanical issue in the Arenberg Forest ended his bid for a fourth consecutive victory.

Despite that, Van der Poel looked back on his spring with a sense of satisfaction.

“I think I can be happy with what I’ve achieved. I reached the level I wanted,” he said. “Of course, I would have liked to win another Monument, but it’s unrealistic to expect to win one every year.”

He acknowledged that Roubaix may have been his biggest missed opportunity, but accepted that luck had not been on his side.

“That’s Roubaix, you need a bit of luck. I was one of the strongest,” he said, before pointing to the bigger picture. “The way I rode afterwards gives me motivation.”

Attention now turns to the Tour de France, the centrepiece of his summer programme. 

Last year, the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider made a strong impact in the opening week of the race, claiming a stage victory and spending time in the yellow jersey, before he was forced to abandon in the second week due to pneumonia. This year, the Tour once again holds his full focus.

“The Tour is the main goal in the coming weeks,” he said. “We’re still deciding the races before that, but everything is focused on being ready.”

Alongside his road ambitions, Van der Poel continues to look beyond a single discipline. A return to mountain biking is under consideration, with the World Championships in Val di Sole a potential target.

“No one has ever won world titles in all disciplines,” he said. “That would be something special.”

Balancing road racing, cyclocross, mountain biking and gravel has become a hallmark of his career, even if he acknowledges the challenge as he gets older.

“It’s difficult. I’m not young anymore, but I still enjoy trying different things,” he said. “I still have goals I want to achieve.”

As he has grown older, his perspective on the sport has shifted.

“I like cycling more now than before,” he said. “The training, the preparation for big goals… I really enjoy it.” That change has also brought a different mindset. “Everything now feels like a bonus.”

The last fews of his career are also shaped by his rivalry with Tadej Pogačar, something Van der Poel views more as a challenge than a frustration. “He’s a very difficult opponent to beat,” Van der Poel said. “In most races, if you can beat him, it means you’re very close to winning. I’ll keep trying.”

In recent years, it has often been Mathieu van der Poel who has denied Tadej Pogacar victory in some of the sport’s biggest races. Last Sunday at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, however, it was emerging French talent Paul Seixas who stepped into that role, matching Pogačar for much of the race.

Van der Poel was impressed by the youngster. “What we saw this week, at 19, was incredible,” he said. “It looks like France finally has someone who can win the Tour again.”

For Van der Poel, though, legacy goes beyond results and rivalries, and is defined by how his generation will be remembered.

“As part of a generation that changed cycling,” he said. “The way we race, attacking from start to finish.” And if that endures, he suggests, it will be enough. “It would be nice if that’s what people remember.”