Mathieu van der Poel and Freddy Ovett open Rouleur Live event onstage with Matt Stephens: 'You never know when you’ll win your last race'
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Follow us on GoogleMathieu van der Poel and Freddy Ovett kicked off Rouleur’s three-day cycling event in London on Thursday evening. The Dutch rider was the guest of honour during the media outlet’s first evening, joined on stage by Matt Stephens. Rouleur immediately shared some quotes from Van der Poel and his cycling friend Ovett via its official channels.
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Freddy Ovett and Mathieu van der Poel on the joy of cycling
Van der Poel: “When you spend so many hours on the bike—whether it’s for a living or something you’re passionate about—you have to enjoy it. If you don’t, you can’t keep it up. Especially at this level, I think that’s very important.”
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Ovett: “Mathieu thinks having fun is the most important thing; he always makes the day as enjoyable as possible.”
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Mathieu van der Poel on winning on the Champs-Élysées
"I don't remember much about the finish. But it was special to be out in front with Tadej Pogačar, probably the best rider ever. We were both going as fast as we could, and at one point I thought we were about to be caught. I was waiting for a wheel to pass me and didn’t realise I’d won until after I crossed the finish line.”
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Mathieu van der Poel on workload after fan ride and running session
Van der Poel didn’t just take his place on a Rouleur Live panel with Stephens and Ovett. The three of them also took part in a fan ride of about 60 kilometres on Thursday; Van der Poel went golfing, and he also went for a 20-kilometre run with Ovett in London.
As Van der Poel emphasised regarding his training workload: “You never know when you’ll win your last race.”
Will van der Poel have an easier busier winter?
There is still a lot of speculation and rumour surrounding van der Poel's winter calendar. The Dutch national coach only added to the speculation on Laurens ten Dams' podcast, saying he did not know Mathieu's winter plans yet himself.
He said, "And I've sometimes thought: what about skipping a winter of cyclocross? Given that he's going to become a father around January, this would, of course, be the ideal winter to take a break."
"Anyway, I'm curious too... I’ve talked about it with Adrie [van der Poel’s father] a few times, but he doesn’t really know for sure either,” he continued.
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Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
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Latest Comments
- I’m not sure how WorldTour licences work—could these reports affect whether the team gets one next year, or is that decision based on other criteria?velodromevirtuoso113-11-2026
- Pointing to three former riders doesn’t settle what nearly 100 people have reportedly shared. Hopefully the review looks at the team’s systems and culture, not just whose version of events sounds more convincing.julien13-11-2026
- Eight questions or 23? That’s a pretty significant difference in the accounts, and it’d be useful to know exactly what was sent and when.robert6513-11-2026
- Kittel’s position sounds more nuanced than Spekenbrink suggests: he didn’t endorse the “culture of fear” label, but still called for the team to be looked at critically. That distinction matters.bikebuffj13-11-2026
- The independent investigation is the important bit now. It needs to give current staff a safe way to speak honestly, not just become another round of public statements.michael5413-11-2026
- One Lombardia doesn’t tell us how Seixas will handle a full Grand Tour. I’d rather see him develop steadily than have every result turned into a Pogačar comparison.samanthak12-11-2026
- Pogacar is 30 already? I thought he was younger. If he keeps winning like this, how long can he realistically ride at the top?jeremya12-11-2026
- Interesting that Thomas made the comparison while speaking to Rowe, given Decathlon’s hopes of keeping Seixas and the reports linking INEOS with him. Praise, or a subtle message to a potential signing?gearguru3312-11-2026
- Seixas winning Il Lombardia at this age is a huge statement. The Pogačar comparisons are inevitable, but Thomas is right to leave room for both of them to keep improving—Pog is still setting the bar.robert6512-11-2026
- A fascinating career, but the article leans heavily on his side of the story. Were the three disqualifications all for the same equipment rule, or were there different issues each time?michael5412-11-2026