There is still a sense of mystery surrounding Mathieu van der Poel's cyclo-cross season, with the Dutch national coach saying he still doesn't know whether the star man will compete this winter and that Van der Poel's father doesn't, either.
Van der Poel has been a dominant force in cyclo-cross over the course of his career, winning eight world titles, but he has not yet committed to returning to the discipline this winter.
He is due to become a father in January, which is clearly a factor, and while he has not yet ruled out racing, he has not confirmed any plans so far, with the World Cup series starting in two weeks' time.
"I’m curious too," Van der Poel's national coach for cyclo-cross and mountain bike, Gerben de Knegt said this week on the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast of fellow Dutchmen Laurens ten Dam and Stefan Bolt.
"I’ve even asked [Van der Poel's father] Adrie about it, but he doesn’t know either."
Bolt, seeing the funny side, then chimed in: "Adrie is just as in the dark as the rest of us. It’s quite funny, really. People interview Adrie as if he has some special insight into Mathieu’s life."
De Knegt also highlighted Van der Poel's impending fatherhood, which is set to come in the middle of the season, in the same month as the World Championships, which take place right at the end of January.
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"Of course, there’s the family aspect, when it comes to the idea of not doing any 'cross this winter. Well, given that he’s going to be a dad around January, this is actually the ideal winter to skip it," De Knegt said.
As for the possibility of dropping in just for the World Championships, he said: "I’ve discussed that with him often in the past. But it's not really an option. We’ve always preferred to do more races."
Van der Poel himself has hinted in the past that he could skip cyclo-cross entirely one winter.
After collecting his eighth world title in February earlier this year, he said: "Maybe it's not a bad idea to skip one winter because to be here it's the first peak of my season always, not only physically, but also mentally.
"This is a day when I want to be in top shape, 90% is not enough or would not be enough for me to be at the start line here."
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Patrick is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish) and a decade’s experience in digital sports media, largely within the world of cycling. He re-joined Cyclingnews as Deputy Editor in February 2026, having previously spent eight years on staff between 2015 and 2023. In between, he was Deputy Editor at GCN and spent 18 months working across the sports portfolio at Future before returning to the cycling press pack. Patrick works across Cyclingnews’ wide-ranging output, assisting the Editor in global content strategy, with a particular focus on shaping CN's news operation.
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