It seems like it was yesterday when we saw the name Mathieu van der Poel once in the headlines…but it was only the start of a long career for the son of Adrie. It was back in 2012 when MvdP became a world champ for the first time–as a junior–and began a remarkable career that has seen all kinds of huge wins. But, the finish line for his remarkable run may be coming up soon.

Speaking to Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad ahead of the Tour de France, the 31-year-old said the 2028 season—when his current contract with Alpecin–Premier Tech is done—could provide the ideal moment to step away from professional cycling.

2028 could be a big year

“I think 2028 could be a good end point,” Van der Poel said. “Then I’ll be 33, a good age to stop. But nothing is final yet. If I still have the level in 2028 and still like to do it, then anything is still possible.”

There’s one thing the Dutch superstar has talked about for some time—the mountain bike race at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Although he has won several MTB World Cups, he’s still chasing the one thing missing from his résumé: a mountain bike rainbow jersey. Gravel, natch; road, yup; ‘cross, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. (That’s eight yesses, btw.)

But going for Olympic gold could even mean skipping the Tour de France that summer.

“LA will basically be my last chance, so a summer without a Tour is definitely on the table,” he said. “I would then shift the focus to mountain biking after the spring.”

While retirement remains several seasons away, Van der Poel admitted that life as one of cycling’s biggest stars has become increasingly demanding.

“I still love cycling, but everything that comes with it has become quite a lot,” he said to the Belgian outlet.

The 2026 Tour de France

For now, however, his attention is all about the Tour. It starts Saturday and he will be doing double duty between going for stage dubs and helping sprinter teammate Jasper Philipsen chase the green jersey.

Van der Poel said Alpecin–Premier Tech’s best chance at the points classification lies with Philipsen, adding: “On eight out of ten finishes, Jasper is faster than me.” MvdP is still pretty quick when he goes for it, however. It’s just that he doesn’t, often. Kinda like time trials–however as we recently saw at the Tour de Suisse, when he puts his head down, he’s pretty darn good there too. He came so so close to taking his first TT win as a pro, losing by a fraction of a second to Tadej Pogačar.

As far as the Tour, Van der Poel said he’ll target the opening stages and hopes the team can surprise in Saturday’s opening team time trial, which could put him in contention for the first yellow jersey. He’s worn the maillot jaune before—in his first Tour, no less, and on the anniversary of his grandfather Raymond Poulidor’s death.

The biggest bike race in the world starts on Saturday, and it’s poised to be a doozy. Pogi, Jonas Vingegaard, Paul Seixas, Remco Evenepoel? Oh, and a certain national TT champ, Derek Gee-West, too.