Mathieu van der Poel Risks Road Worlds for the One Rainbow Jersey He’s Never Won

Mathieu van der Poel is not giving up on his mountain bike dreams, even if pursuing them could put his road world championship ambitions at risk.

The Dutch superstar returns to cross-country racing this weekend at the UCI mountain bike World Cup in Les Gets in another high-risk detour from the road to chase the world title he still desperately wants.

Van der Poel will race the short track Friday and the XCO Sunday in Haute-Savoie before heading to Val di Sole, Italy, for the UCI mountain bike world championships on August 30.

One bad crash could derail his chances for the road worlds in Montréal on September 27.

So why take the risk?

Because Van der Poel loves mountain biking, and the missing rainbow jersey from his collection still grates on him.

The 31-year-old has already won elite world titles on the road, a record eight world crowns in cyclocross, and one on gravel. Cross-country remains the lone omission from one of the most versatile palmarès in cycling history.

“Mathieu van der Poel is set to make his long-awaited return to cross-country racing in Les Gets, where he’ll line up against the world’s best once again, and we can’t wait,” Alpecin-Premier Tech officials said in confirming his return.

MVDP still chasing the dream

Van der Poel’s mountain bike ambitions have sometimes ended with spectacular crashes and injuries that have spilled over into his road racing and cyclocross ambitions.

The most famous came during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 on the “Sakura Drop,” when a ramp used during training laps was removed for the race. His cart-wheeling spill left him with back problems that lingered for more than a year and forced him to miss the 2022 CX worlds.

Two years later, just a week after winning the 2023 road world title, he crashed out of the MTB worlds in Scotland less than three minutes into the race.

And in May last year at the Nové Město World Cup mountain bike comeback, Van der Poel crashed twice in the opening minutes, fracturing his scaphoid and damaging wrist ligaments before abandoning. The injury disrupted his prep ahead of the Tour de France.

Yet Van der Poel — arguably the best pure classics rider of this century — keeps coming back. He’s repeatedly described mountain biking as one of his first loves in cycling, and the chance to complete his rainbow collection still pulls him back to the dirt.

Speaking to AS this spring, he didn’t pause when asked what trophy he wants to win more than any other at this point of his career.

“It is difficult, but the mountain bike world championships,” he told AS. “If I can only choose one, it would be that.”

The French resort will host the mountain bike world championships in 2027, so perhaps Van der Poel is also laying the groundwork for the 2027 “super worlds” and one more shot at the off-road stripes.

Off-road detour before Montréal

Van der Poel has not raced since his emotional victory on the Champs-Élysées on the final stage of the 2026 Tour de France. After a break, he was spotted training with Remco Evenepoel last week in his buildup toward his MTB return.

Les Gets will mark his first mountain bike race since mountain bike worlds last year and will be a final tune-up before Val di Sole.

So what are his chances for the MTB stripes? It won’t be easy.

Two-time defending world champion Alan Hatherly headlines a deep field that includes 2026 World Cup leader Luca Martin and rising star Adrien Boichis, who also races on the road with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Two-time Olympic champion Tom Pidcock and top American Christopher Blevins are also expected to start.

The Val di Sole course is notorious for its technical rock gardens, something that could be tricky for Van der Poel coming into Italy with limited MTB racing in his legs.

Under new UCI rules that allow points to count between disciplines, Van der Poel will at least see a better position on the start line grid despite a lack of UCI mountain bike points.

His road schedule before worlds remains uncertain. WielerFlits reported that a decision has not yet been made on whether Van der Poel will race the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec on September 11 and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on September 13.

The Montréal road worlds, however, remain at the center of his late-season road campaign. Van der Poel will be a top favorite on the classics-style course against the likes of Tadej Pogačar, Mads Pedersen, and Wout van Aert.

Before that comes one more crack at mountain bike history.

Van der Poel’s racing calendar