🎥 From wheelie clip to KOM with a legend: Van der Poel’s Costa Blanca block stirs triathlon talk again

It is common knowledge that Mathieu van der Poel is living the good life on the Costa Blanca. On Wednesday, the Dutchman posted a video from the Spanish coast, in which he is doing a wheelie while descending. Stuntman Mathieu!

Van der Poel has been cycling, running and even swimming vigorously in recent weeks with training mates such as Freddy Ovett, David Dekker and Greg Van Avermaet. The latter will do a World Triathlon 70.3 next weekend and the Dutchman wanted a taste of that in preparation.

Still, the bicycle obviously remains mode of transportation one on the Costa Blanca, where the thermometer is hovering between 20 and 25 degrees these days. Short-short and all the time for a solid wheelie, then! When we will see Van der Poel in cross country again remains to be seen, though we will normally know at the end of this month. The World Championships in Hulst, in early February, will be his main goal.

After the stunt work, the fun wasn’t over. Van der Poel headed out with training mate Ovett — they often ride together — but this time they had Jan Frodeno for company. He may be less known to pure cycling fans, but the German is the 2008 Olympic triathlon champion and a former world record holder: a true great.

Back in 2023, Van der Poel made a bet with YouTuber Average Rob: if their collaboration hit 42,000 likes, he’d do an Ironman. A promise is a promise, it seems, as the Alpecin–Deceuninck leader has already been spotted swimming with Van Avermaet after earlier running sessions.

Is it a Coincidence that he’s out training with Frodeno? Only Van der Poel knows. Their shared Costa Blanca ride ended up at roughly 4h30 and 138 kilometres. On the descent of Callosa d’en Sarrià, Ovett even set a new Strava KOM. “No risk — No KOM,” as he put it himself — no doubt helped by Van der Poel’s bike-handling.