Alpecin-Deceuninck unveils stripped-back MTB calendar for Mathieu van der Poel in coming months

Alpecin-Deceuninck has announced the mountain bike schedule for the coming weeks of Mathieu van der Poel, Puck Pieterse and Sam Gaze on social media. Van der Poel has chosen to race only in Nové Město, Czech Republic, this May, as the Tour de France and its preparation are also part of his summer plans.

Originally, the organisers in Heubach, Germany, announced that Van der Poel would line up there on Sunday, May 18, but they were a bit too quick off the mark. In the official calendar shared by Alpecin-Deceuninck on Tuesday, the Paris-Roubaix winner is only listed for Nové Město.

Pieterse and Gaze will race in Heubach this Sunday and have opted for a more condensed summer program, including rounds in Leogang, Austria (weekend of June 8), Val di Sole (June 22), and Andorra (July 13). By then, Van der Poel will be deep into his Tour de France preparations, the team confirmed.

The Dutchman is back in training, currently putting in the miles in Spain, and will shift his full focus to the mountain bike after the Tour de France, with the World Championships in Crans Montana, Switzerland, marked as his main goal for the second half of the season. Which races he'll line up for in the run-up to worlds will be announced by Alpecin-Deceuninck at a later date.

Van der Poel last raced on the mountain bike in 2023, when he lined up at the worlds in Glentress Forest shortly after taking the rainbow jersey on the road in Glasgow. That day ended early as he crashed out in the very first corner. Ahead of the 2025 season, Van der Poel made it clear he was aiming to return to the MTB grid after a year away from the discipline.