The limits of Mathieu Van der Poel's multidisciplinary challenge

In a cycling world hysterically obsessed with performance, Mathieu van der Poel is a happy anomaly… on the way to extinction. His multidisciplinary flair and his ability to ride all types of bikes, always excellently, have led him to a challenge that is beginning to choke him. The Dutchman wants to add the world mountain bike championship title, simply because he has already won the road, cyclocross, and gravel championships . This Sunday, all eyes are on him, scrutinizing his chances of wearing the rainbow jersey again, while many dismiss his desire as an obsession whose outcome seems uncertain.

In fact, virtually all of Van der Poel's recent appearances on Olympic cross-country (XCO) courses have ended abruptly. At the 2021 Tokyo Games, he was the only one who failed to notice that where there had been a wooden ramp, the organizers decided a jump would be more spectacular: the Dutchman went flying and landed awkwardly. Retirement. At the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow, a week after taking the road title, Van der Poel skidded on the first lap and fell to one knee. Retirement. In his first race of the current season, at the end of May on the Nove Mesto circuit in the Czech Republic, he took out David Valero, eager as he was to gain positions. Shortly after, he suffered a second fall, flying over his handlebars. Retirement. At the end of August, during his final test at the World Cup in Les Gets (France), Van der Poel managed to finish the race... in sixth place.

Where he saw himself as "short on power," analysts saw him as clumsy. After achieving a tremendous comeback, when push came to shove, the technical sections penalized him. Where his rivals passed without hesitation, he lost time. The final verdict was clear: he lacks mountain biking hours. Van der Poel is one of the most skilled riders, whether on the road or in cyclo-cross, the discipline that shaped his origins. He joined mountain biking later, and the sport has undergone enormous transformations in recent years. To fit into the television format, the events are shorter and more spectacular, with extremely technical descents, jumps, rocky sections, roots, banked terrain... and the XCO elite not only handle the difficulty with ease but also demonstrate an extraordinary physical level: Tom Pidcock, a star of the asphalt, only managed third place in the last World Championship.

Furthermore, his modest position in the world rankings has him at the back of the starting line, forcing him to overexert himself to catch up. His rivals, aware of this advantage, are breaking away. Among them is a Spanish team led by David Valero, David Campos, Jofre Cullell, and Alberto Barroso. However, Van der Poel, who had grown accustomed to arriving at the circuits at the last minute, seems to have learned a basic lesson: knowing and familiarizing himself with the layouts is a must. Therefore, he spent a week in the Swiss town of Crans Montana, diligently preparing for a World Championship featuring an extremely technical course where ease on the bike is of paramount importance.

In reality, time is running out for the 30-year-old Dutchman, increasingly challenged by his road duties, which have made him one of the few capable of beating Tadej Pogacar. As the seasons go by, Van der Poel has even begun to abandon cyclo-cross, where he has accumulated seven world titles: if each winter he competed in around thirty races on mud and sand, now he barely reaches a dozen. The same can be said of his great rival, Wout van Aert, and the third in contention, Tom Pidcock. The latter will not be competing in the MTB World Championships because he will decide during this Vuelta whether or not he is a worthy rider to aspire to win a three-week race. If his answer is yes, his mountain biking days will be reduced to a minimum.

Van der Poel's female alter ego is Puck Pieterse, also Dutch, from his same team and equally multi-skilled: capable of winning cyclo-cross World Cup events, of claiming the rainbow mountain bike title in 2024 or of winning a stage of the Tour de France , the Fénix-Deceuninck cyclist seems to be lacking in 2025: little cyclo-cross , modest results on the road and serious difficulties in imposing herself on the mountain bike. In fact, the majority do not see her as the favourite today in the Swiss Valais, where the Spanish aspirations of Estíbaliz Sagardoy and Nuria Bosch are modest.

Cyclists capable of shining in such diverse disciplines are a luxury for the spectator, but the demands are so high that they threaten to burn out their protagonists. Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who combined road, mountain bike , and even cyclo-cross for several seasons, had to opt for mountain bike to be, by far, the best. Returning to the road this year, her single-card bet has once again paid off: the Tour de France and Paris-Roubaix in her best season on asphalt. These days, not even the greatest can play both sides of the fence forever. If Van der Poel ultimately takes the rainbow crown, the worst that could happen is that he won't be seen on a mountain bike again.