Mathieu van der Poel: Five things to know about the Dutch multi-discipline cycling star and new road race world champion

Mathieu van der Poel is one of cycling's hottest names at the moment.

The Dutchman's impressive 15km solo Paris-Roubaix win in April had added his name among the greats of the sport to have won two historic Monuments in a single season, coming after he won Milano–Sanremo in March.

Now, he is the world road race champion after a thrilling race in Glasgow on Sunday (6 August 2023).

But who is Mathieu van der Poel? The 28-year-old has made a name for himself not just in road cycling, but other cycling disciplines too. And away from the road, some less savoury headlines – although they have all formed part of his experiences that continue to make him one of the sport's best all-rounders.

We've picked out five things to know about the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider.

1. Cycling royalty in his family

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Mathieu van der Poel turned into such an impressive all-round cyclist, when you consider his genes.

His dad Adrie van der Poel won two Tour de France stages and two Monuments himself, the Tour of Flanders in 1986 and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 1988. The younger van der Poel would go on to repeat his father's Flanders classic victories in 2020 and 2022.

And his maternal grandfather is the French great Raymond Poulidor, 'Pou-Pou', who won seven Tour de France stages and finished second overall three times, as well as winning the Vuelta a España, Critérium du Dauphiné (twice), and Paris–Nice (twice) general classifications during his career.

Poulidor also won Milano–Sanremo in 1961, a feat Mathieu would repeat 62 years later.

2. The historic chase for a career Monument sweep

Van der Poel has now won three of the five Monuments – Sanremo (2023), Flanders (2020 and 2022), and Roubaix (2023).

His Sanremo and Roubaix double this year puts him in an exclusive group of just 25 male cyclists to have won two Monuments in one year.

Additionally, he is in an even smaller pool of just four men to have won both Milano–Sanremo and Paris–Roubaix in the same year, joining Cyrille van Hauwaert (1908), Sean Kelly (1986), and John Degenkolb (2015).

Only two of the big five remain for van der Poel: Liège–Bastogne–Liège, which his father won in 1988, and Il Lombardia – a race in which both his father and grandfather each finished on the podium twice.

Mathieu van der Poel has competed only once in each of those races, but obtained strong results: sixth in Liège and 10th in Il Lombardia, both in 2020.

Although he did not compete in Liège this year, instead turning his attention to the big summer stage races, a push for the career sweep which only three men have achieved isn't out of the question.

3. Road, cyclo-cross, mountain bike, and gravel cycling: MVDP all in one

When it comes to cycling, van der Poel is one of a wave of riders who is comfortable over more than one type of terrain on more than one type of bike.

The Dutchman began his career as a cyclo-cross rider, piling up an impressive palmarès before switching to the road.

Van der Poel continues to ride cyclo-cross events in winter, and is the defending world champion in that discipline, having won the rainbow jersey five times.

He has also raced in mountain bike, being crowned MTB European champion in 2019 after taking world bronze in 2018 and competing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021 in this discipline.

And more recently, van der Poel contested the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships 2023 – a race over gravel and off-road terrain similar to a mountain bike or cyclo-cross race, but over a long road-like distance. He won bronze in that event.

However, the 28-year-old has said he feels like juggling the different disciplines can hold him back.

"When I don't do cyclo-cross I have a good build-up [for the road season]," van der Poel said this past winter ahead of his successful road classics campaign. "That's the problem – it's so busy. I didn't want to miss the (2023 cyclo-cross) Worlds in Hoogerheide for all the money in the world.

"But if I had to map out the perfect winter now, it would be one without cyclo-cross."

It didn't seem to hurt him too much this year, as van der Poel reflected on his Roubaix win by calling this his "best classic season ever."

4. Long-lasting rivalry with Wout van Aert

Van der Poel has established a long-running cordial rivalry with Belgium's Wout van Aert, dating back to their days in the junior cyclo-cross ranks.

Born just four months apart, the two have seen their careers overlap in both cyclo-cross and road cycling over the last decade.

While the rivalry has had its low points, notably clashes in cyclo-cross in 2016 and 2017 as well as an incident on the road at the 2020 Gent-Wevelgem, it has developed into one with a healthy respect for each other.

Speaking after beating van Aert in a sprint at the 2023 cyclo-cross Worlds, van der Poel said: "I think if you take one of us two away, then it makes the race less interesting for sure. After our career it will be something special to look back on."

On the road, the Belgian was the first to make the grade, but Van der Poel has the upper hand in terms of major wins, with his four Monument titles outstripping Wout van Aert's one.

Notably, their rivalry appears to have expanded to include other men, with Britain's Tom Pidcock in the frame in cyclo-cross and Slovenian Tadej Pogacar making a smooth transition on the road from general classification contender to one-day classics challenger.

5. 2022 gone awry - and it's pushing him on

For all his recent success, Mathieu van der Poel had to overcome a difficult 2022.

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021, the Dutchman competed in the mountain bike cross-country race. However, he crashed out after a ramp he practised on during pre-race training was removed for the race, leaving him with a back injury.

That back injury carried on and hampered van der Poel's 2022 season, forcing him to sit out most of the cyclo-cross campaign, although he did still experience some success on the road by winning Flanders.

However, the jewel of van der Poel's calendar was the Road World Championships in Australia – which went wrong in the worst possible way.

After falling victim to a hotel knock-and-run prank to two teenagers, he was arrested and pled guilty to common assault after the girls received minor injuries when he confronted them.

The Dutchman withdrew just 30km into the world championships road race having had no sleep, and although his conviction was overturned on appeal, the big goal of the season had slipped him by.

That seemed to be just another factor pushing van der Poel on as he seeked out more greatness on the road.

And with his 2023 world championship win, perhaps he has finally put to bed those demons of the year prior.