Mathieu Van der Poel needs to drop road racing to make his mountain bike dream come true, says analyst

The Mountain Bike World Championships turned out to be a huge disappointment for Mathieu van der Poel on Sunday. The Dutch rider, by his own admission, didn’t have a good day and ultimately finished a disappointing 30th in the final standings. That marked yet another setback on the mountain bike. What’s next? Analyst and former pro Roxane Knetemann sees that her compatriot is at a turning point.

Van der Poel started alongside Tom Pidcock on the fifth row on Sunday, but the two riders’ performances were not comparable. The Brit raced through the field and joined the front runners fairly quickly. We really only saw Van der Poel in the opening phase, but after that, the Dutchman was unable to move up any further.

So that meant yet another disappointment on the mountain bike for MVDP, who is still searching for a major victory in that discipline. The World Championships, in particular, haven’t been a good fit for Van der Poel. To change that, Knetemann sees that he faces a choice. “So isn’t there a possibility for Mathieu van der Poel to say, say, a year and a half before the Olympics: ‘I’m just going to be a mountain biker; I’m not racing on the road anymore’?”

Because, as Knetemaa analyses in the podcast In Het Wiel: “I don’t think he needs to do it anymore to make money; he could take a kind of unpaid leave. Even if he takes unpaid leave, there are still sponsors who want to pay him. I don’t really understand… if he really wants to compete in those Games and win a medal there...”

MVDP also showed some good form on the mountain bike. “I think we can safely say that last week was really great, right? He’s having an off day today, so it’s definitely possible, but does that mean he never really, truly gives mountain biking a chance?” Knetemann wonders aloud.

What’s next? The Dutch analyst has a clear take on that. “I think that if he really wants to try to make his dream come true—and of course, you don’t know what the outcome will be—then the answer is simply that he has to say goodbye to road racing and commit fully to mountain biking, right?”

Because becoming a world champion in this discipline—is that an impossible dream, even for MVDP? “He absolutely shouldn’t give up on chasing this impossible dream, because I simply believe that this impossible dream is never truly prepared to perfection. I also secretly think—and correct me if I’m wrong—that Van der Poel isn’t really used to having to execute something to perfection in order for it to succeed.”

Knetemann explains: “Of course, he’s doing everything incredibly well, but this demands even more. It requires just that final touch, and I don’t think he’s done that yet.” The Dutchwoman isn’t saying her compatriot needs to become a full-time mountain biker right now. “That’s up to him to decide, but he’s never really given it a fair shot, and then you have to be willing to make choices.”

According to Knetemann, those are very difficult choices to make. “But you can also make them with your heart. Then, in a year and a half or two years, you’ll know whether it was a good choice or not. If it wasn’t, you’ll have to lick your wounds. It’s a choice that can’t be made four years later, which is what makes it so difficult.”

If Van der Poel were to actually choose that path, Knetemann would find it a shame. “On the other hand, I would find it typical of the kind of rider Van der Poel is. He races from the heart; he’s a cyclist through and through, and if he believes he can do it, then he should give it a fair shot. For us as spectators, though, that’s a tough choice, because then we’ll see him on the road much less often,” he concludes.