Van der Poel cancels gravel world title defense and planned start at European champs after MTB title dream hits the dirt.
(Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Updated September 15, 2025 04:51AM
Mathieu van der Poel flamed out of his high-profile quest for the mountain bike world title, and now he just wants to chill out.
The Dutchman called it how it is after he fizzled to a lowly 29th-place finish in the Swiss cross-country worlds on Sunday.
“The start was a dream scenario, but I just had a bad day,” Van der Poel told NOS after the race. “I didn’t feel like I blew up, but it wasn’t a good day.
“There are no excuses.”
Van der Poel blasted from the middle of the grid to the front group before he faded, fast, on the technical Crans-Montana circuit.
He rolled to the finish 5:35 back on a masterclass world title defense from South Africa’s Alan Hatherly.
“At the start, everything went pretty well, but I haven’t been feeling great for a while,” the disappointed Dutchman said Sunday. “I can feel in training that I’m less resilient.”
Speaking after the race, MVDP said he’s done with bike racing after what’s been a rollercoaster season.
He fended off Tadej Pogačar to pad his monument palmarès at Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in the spring. A few months later, he won a stage and wore yellow for Alpecin-Deceuninck at the Tour de France.
But he later left Le Tour with pneumonia, and hasn’t caught his level ever since.
“The bike is going to be put aside for a while,” he said. “I need to rest.”
🚵🌈 | Van der Poel kende een goede start, maar kan niet langer aanklampen. Hij geeft meer en meer terrein prijs. Medailles zijn te hoog gegrepen vandaag. 👊👊 #Valais2025
📺 Stream MTB op HBO Max pic.twitter.com/rMiYWlP0X7
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) September 14, 2025
Van der Poel still dreams: ‘That rainbow jersey remains my ambition’
Van der Poel scrapped his planned participation at the European championships and confirmed Sunday he won’t defend his gravel world title. The mountainous Kigali worlds on September 28 were already off the strapping superstar’s agenda.
Van der Poel told NOS he’ll be back in December but didn’t confirm his intentions for the cyclocross season.
But fear not – mud is still very much in MVDP’s future.
The 30-year-old’s dream to add the mountain bike rainbow jersey to his brimming collection of stripey jumpers keeps recurring.
“That rainbow jersey remains my ambition,” he told NOS. “I still have a few years to go. We’ll just keep trying.”
It was a tough weekend all round for Alpecin-Deceuninck’s MTB division.
Defending champion Puck Pieterse had to make do with 6th in the women’s race, while Sam Gaze finished 12th in the men’s.