Updated April 30, 2026 02:56PM<\/p>\n
Mathieu van der Poel<\/a> has won almost everything there is to win in modern cycling, but there\u2019s space reserved on his overflowing trophy case for one missing title.<\/p>\n Eight monuments, multiple world titles, cyclocross history, yellow jerseys, and 60 professional road victories clutter his palmar\u00e8s and have cemented his legacy, yet the Dutch superstar remains fixated on one unfinished goal \u2014 the mountain bike world championship.<\/p>\n When asked if there\u2019s one race he still dreams of winning, he is unequivocal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is difficult, but the mountain bike world championships,\u201d he told AS<\/a>. \u201cIf I can only choose one, it would be that.\u201d<\/p>\n For a superstar who\u2019s dominated across disciplines, the importance of what he hasn\u2019t yet won says a lot.<\/p>\n And his answer underscores just how strong the tug of mountain biking<\/a> remains.<\/p>\n Despite balancing road racing and cyclocross at the highest level for nearly a decade, there is clearly still a place in MVDP\u2019s heart for racing on the dirt.<\/p>\n At 31, Van der Poel is facing plenty more epic battles<\/a> with Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a>, but as he maps out the rest of 2026, it\u2019s the XCO rainbow jersey that stands out as the primary target.<\/p>\n The timing will be tight, with the mountain bike worlds on August 30, soon after the Tour de France<\/a> concludes in Paris on July 26, but he believes it is within reach.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, it is very possible. It is true that it is quite close to the end of the Tour de France, but I think I can arrive at a high level and give my best,\u201d Van der Poel said.<\/p>\n With that, MVDP all but confirmed he will be at Val di Sole, Italy.<\/p>\n An historic gap in a stacked palmar\u00e8s<\/p>\n Van der Poel has a magnetic draw toward mountain biking.<\/p>\n Growing up as cycling royalty \u2014 his grandfather was Tour de France legend Raymond Poulidor and his father Adrie was a classics star in his own right \u2014 it was the off-road adventures with his brother that drove his interest to take up the family business.<\/p>\n Though he\u2019s made cyclocross history with eight world titles and earned millions on the pavement, it\u2019s off-road that remains both a personal passion and a challenge.<\/p>\n Things haven\u2019t always gone to script in his single-track adventures. Recent world championship starts in the elite fields in 2023 and 2025 ended badly, with a DNF and 29th, respectively.<\/p>\n The most infamous mishap came during the 2021 Tokyo<\/a> Olympic Games, when he misread a drop, incorrectly believing that a ramp used during practice laps would still be deployed for the gold medal race.<\/p>\n Critics say he can never match the technical skills of today\u2019s top mountain bike stars by dropping in a few times a year around his road calendar.<\/p>\n Double Olympic XCO gold medalist Tom Pidcock and double reigning world champion Alan Hatherly<\/a>, who is now also racing full-time on the road with Jayco-AlUla, are ruling the off-road game right now.<\/p>\n To have any hope of winning the rainbow bands, he will have to beat them and a deep field of full-time specialists. Having a back-line starting position doesn\u2019t help either.<\/p>\n Bronze in 2018 behind winner Nino Schurter proves that Van der Poel is capable of being in the rainbow jersey hunt when things go right.<\/p>\n But chasing the world title is also about making history across disciplines.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mountain bike world championships would be a historic victory because nobody won all the disciplines,\u201d he told AS, referring to his other world titles in road, cyclocross and gravel.<\/p>\n Cementing a legacy<\/p>\n Speaking to AS, MVDP also reflected on his place in cycling history.<\/p>\n He is card-holding member of today\u2019s golden generation that also includes Poga\u010dar, Wout van Aert, Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d, Jonas Vingegaard, and Remco Evenepoel, the so-called \u201cBig 6\u2033 who have reshaped the DNA of modern racing.<\/p>\n \u201cAs part of a generation that changed cycling, the way of racing, attacking from the start to the finish,\u201d Van der Poel said of his legacy. \u201cIt will be good that this type of racing is remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n Even though Poga\u010dar beat him this year<\/a> at Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, MVDP relishes his battles with the world No. 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTadej is a very difficult opponent to beat. Everyone knows in cycling that, in most races, if you can beat Poga\u010dar it means that you are very close to winning,\u201d he said. \u201cI will keep trying, I keep improving for that and I am convinced that I will be able to beat him again.\u201d<\/p>\n