Mathieu van der Poel has hinted that he may skip the 2025 Tour de France to focus on alternative goals, including a bid for the mountain bike cross-country world title in Valais, Switzerland. The Dutch cyclist, who has struggled to replicate his 2021 Tour success, revealed his intentions during his team’s winter training camp in Spain.
Van der Poel, 29, made an early impact in the 2021 Tour, winning a stage and briefly donning the yellow jersey. However, his subsequent Tour campaigns have been less fruitful. In contrast, he has enjoyed considerable success in the Classics. He now suggests that if given the choice, he would prefer to skip the Tour next year in favor of pursuing other accolades, particularly in mountain biking.
“My priority would be elsewhere if it were up to me,” van der Poel told Cycling Weekly, expressing his desire to target the mountain bike world championship instead. He also acknowledged the influence of sponsors, who often prioritize his participation in high-profile road races like the Tour.
The former world champion also announced he would not participate in the 2025 road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, due to the challenging course that favors climbers such as Tadej Pogačar, the 2023 winner.
With his road calendar remaining largely unchanged, van der Poel is set to focus on his spring goals—Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders—both key races in his repertoire. He also plans to race one of the early-season stage races, either Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico, to fine-tune his form.
This year, van der Poel marked his return to form with a victory at the E3 Classic and a top-ten finish at Milan-San Remo. He believes that racing early in the season will help him perform at his best for the Classics.
Aiming for a third consecutive Paris-Roubaix victory, van der Poel is eager to join the ranks of cycling legends like Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara, who have achieved the same feat. The race holds significant personal value, given his family’s rich cycling heritage.
“The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are the races I love most and excel in,” he said. “I’ll focus on them again this year and see what I can achieve.”
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