Mathieu van der Poel shows off BMX skills one week after iconic Paris victory

Mathieu van der Poel probably needed some time to recover after his spectacular victory on the Champs-Élysées in Paris at the end of the Tour de France. The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider was the strongest in a thrilling final stage and has since been recharging his batteries. He did so alongside his regular training partner and close friend Freddy Ovett.

What a Tour de France Van der Poel had. A possible yellow jersey appeared to be waiting for him in Barcelona, but after Alpecin-Premier Tech finished seventh in the team time trial, everyone knew that taking the race lead would be difficult. He was then dropped during the following road stage on Montjuïc, but gained his revenge in Ussel, where he won Stage 9 in magnificent fashion.

That, however, was only the tip of the iceberg. Van der Poel was rarely at the centre of the action during the remainder of the Tour. He helped Jasper Philipsen win Stage 17 in Voiron, before producing an extraordinary performance of his own in Paris. Van der Poel followed Tadej Pogačar on Montmartre, committed fully to the move alongside the yellow jersey, dropped the Slovenian and narrowly held off the peloton at the finish on the Champs-Élysées.

The victory was another addition to the Dutchman’s list of iconic successes. He has already won races including the Amstel Gold Race, Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in memorable fashion, while his victory at the 2023 Road World Championships in Glasgow also became an unforgettable moment. His effort in Paris took a huge amount out of him, however, making some rest essential. Little had been heard from the Alpecin-Premier Tech superstar during the week following his Tour triumph.

So, what had he been doing? Van der Poel had returned to Spain to meet up with his regular training partner. Australian rider Freddy Ovett has trained alongside Van der Poel for years, and the pair were back out together once again. It was unlikely to have been their most demanding training ride, as they also visited a BMX track. “Don’t forget why you started,” Ovett wrote on Instagram. That is something Van der Poel never appears to forget: cycling should also be fun. On the track, the Dutchman enjoyed carving through the corners, performing wheelies and launching himself over the jumps.

Van der Poel’s next competitive appearance will not be on the road, but on a mountain bike. After the Tour, he shifted his focus to the wider tires and will compete in a World Cup race in Les Gets before travelling to the Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole, where the elite events conclude on August 30. Van der Poel also plans to compete at the Road World Championships in Montréal, Canada, which run until September 27.