Mathieu van der Poel resumes training after successful spring with XCO World Championships in mind
Mathieu van der Poel has resumed training with his sights firmly set on the 2025 UCI Cross-Country Mountain Bike (XCO) World Championships, scheduled to take place in September in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. After a highly successful spring campaign on the road, which included standout victories in Milan–San Remo and Paris–Roubaix, the Dutch cycling star is now shifting his focus back to mountain biking, a discipline where he has long shown tremendous potential.
Van der Poel, already a world champion in cyclocross, road racing, and gravel, has made it clear that he is eager to add an XCO world title to his growing list of accomplishments. As part of that ambition, he has decided to skip the 2025 Road World Championships in Rwanda to fully dedicate his efforts to preparing for the mountain bike season. His decision underscores the importance he places on this goal, having narrowly missed out on XCO titles in the past.
His training program is being carefully tailored to meet the unique demands of cross-country mountain biking. It includes intensive endurance work, technical riding drills, and specific race simulations designed to fine-tune his form. Van der Poel is also expected to take part in select UCI Mountain Bike World Cup events in the lead-up to the World Championships. These races will serve as both preparation and a test of his performance level against the world’s best mountain bikers.
The decision to target the XCO World Championships represents a strategic pivot in van der Poel’s season, highlighting his versatility and relentless drive to succeed across all forms of cycling. As the championship draws nearer, anticipation is building around what could be another defining moment in the career of one of the most dynamic athletes in modern cycling.
Would you like a timeline of his preparation races or an overview of his past XCO performances?
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