Mathieu van der Poel and girlfriend Roxanne Bertels expecting their first child: "Bébé VdP"

Great news for Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutch cyclist will be on the start line of the Tour de France next week, but just before Le Grand Départ , he shared some happy news on Instagram. His partner, Roxanne Bertels, is expecting their first child. She is due to give birth in January 2027.

Van der Poel and Bertels have been together for a long time. They met in 2018. Bertels was at a Porsche event in Finland at the time, and the cyclist was there too. “I didn’t really know who he was. I knew he was a cyclist, but I wasn’t familiar with the cycling world at all. But I think it was good to start with a clean slate and not have any preconceived notions about him,” she said recently in a podcast.

Since then, the couple has been inseparable. Bertels does a lot for Van der Poel, but she also learns a lot from his lifestyle. Thanks to him, she’s taken up cycling, and she takes running and Pilates very seriously. “The 33-year-old Roxanne would always beat the 25-year-old Roxanne at everything. Mathieu has a good understanding of what’s good for you when it comes to sports. He always gives me good advice, whether it’s about running or other health-related topics.”

Van der Poel will be at the start of the Tour de France this coming Saturday. His team have not yet released its official roster, but the Dutch rider hopes to contend for the yellow jersey in the first week and is also aiming for stage wins. Together with Jasper Philipsen, who is the team leader for the sprints and will be going for the green jersey, he will need to secure success for Alpecin-Premier Tech.