No Boonen or Cancellara, but Van der Poel is the king of classics, says Kristoff: 'He could have beaten them all'

Alexander Kristoff said farewell to professional cycling after 16 years in the peloton. During that time, he racked up no fewer than 98 victories, including two Monuments. Over the years, the powerful Norwegian had to go head-to-head with plenty of classics specialists, but one rider stands above the rest in his view. Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen, Wout van Aert: according to Kristoff, they all fall short compared to Mathieu van der Poel.

Kristoff won Milan–San Remo in 2014, and a year later he was the strongest rider in the Tour of Flanders. In 2015, he managed to latch onto Niki Terpstra, who was unable to drop the sprinter on the climbs. In the sprint, it was a straightforward victory for the Norwegian, who five years later also won Gent–Wevelgem. Who finished fourth there? Mathieu van der Poel. It was one of the last times Kristoff managed to beat him.

Kristoff has enormous respect for the Dutch rider from Alpecin–Deceuninck. Cancellara, Boonen, Van Aert: name the classics specialists you want, but at their peak they would not be able to match Van der Poel, Kristoff believes. “It’s difficult, they could all win,” he said in the Domestique hotseat. “But I feel that Van der Poel is very hard to beat at that moment. He could have beaten them all.”

Now that he has retired, Kristoff can enjoy Van der Poel’s brilliance in a different way, as the Dutchman prepares to take on Tadej Pogacar once again. “When he has a top day, he's simply incredible. Even Pogacar struggles against him then. Well, then you have to be very good,” Kristoff said.

Those two superstars have dominated the Monuments in recent years: of the last ten major classics, they have won no fewer than nine between them. Kristoff won both San Remo and Flanders more than ten years ago, but those days are far behind him. In the latter phase of his career, he noticed just how much harder the younger riders were going. From the front row, he witnessed the evolution of professional cycling.

I won Flanders, and since then I’ve always hoped for a good result. But I simply couldn’t keep up with today’s level,” said the 38-year-old Kristoff, who rode his final race at the Tour de Langkawi in 2025. “You get dropped 60 or 70 kilometres from the finish. Then you’re just disappointed that you couldn’t be part of the final hour of racing.