©Tom Photo Cycling via Unsplash
Mathieu van der Poel is the man who makes cycling look effortless and is, at the same time, one of the greatest all-around riders of his generation. The Dutch cyclocross rider and road star, known as Matje or MVDP, combines explosiveness, racing intelligence, and an almost nonchalant flair with a list of achievements that includes classics, world titles, and rainbow jerseys across all disciplines.
Yet an end is in the air. In an extensive interview with the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Van der Poel indicated that 2028 could be “a nice endpoint” for his career. That’s the year his contract with Alpecin-Premier Tech expires, and he’ll be 33 by then. “A good age to call it quits,” he said, though he immediately added that nothing is set in stone. The reason 2028 seems like such a logical milestone is clear: that year, the Olympic Games in Los Angeles are on his radar, with mountain biking potentially serving as the final major goal of his rich and varied career. Van der Poel hinted that after the spring, he might want to focus entirely on that discipline. In principle, he could then skip the Tour de France, because, in his view, it consumes too much energy in a season in which he wants to seize his last Olympic opportunity.
Van der Poel did emphasize, however, that he isn’t ready to say a definitive goodbye just yet. If he’s still performing at a high level in 2028 and continues to enjoy it, “then anything is still possible.” But at the same time, he made it clear that the road to a grand finale with Olympic gold will be exceptionally difficult. For the rider who has already claimed victories in Milan–San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, and the Road World Championships, a farewell with gold in Los Angeles would be an almost cinematic ending. He smiled at the idea himself, though he immediately tempered expectations. “That would be really nice,” he said, “but I also know how difficult that will be.”
©Tom Photo Cycling via Unsplash