Mathieu van der Poel in action at the 2024 Tour de France Mathieu van der Poel has revealed he will begin his 2025 road season at Tirreno-Adriatico in mid-March and then target the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and an early stage victory at the Tour de France.
He will not ride the hilly UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda but instead wants to target a first cross-country mountain bike world title in Valais, Switzerland in early September.
"It will look a bit the same as last year. The focus is on the Belgian classics, that’s what I’m best at," van der Poel told Sporza and other media during the Alpecin-Decuninink media day in Spain.
"It is an ideal moment to focus on mountain biking again and to make the world title a big goal after the Tour de France . The plan is to do a few World Cup races too if it’s possible, I definitely want to do it. But that is only possible if it fits within my schedule.
"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 […]
Continue reading the original article at: www.cyclingnews.com