Van der Poel may target Mountain Bike Worlds

In an interview with Spanish newspaper As, Mathieu van der Poel floated a strong possibility he'll try for a rainbow jersey at this fall's Mountain Bike World Championships. A start is not yet confirmed, but Van der Poel said that of objectives for the year, "If I can choose only one, that's it." The Dutchman just finished his crucial Spring Classics campaign, where he came away with wins in Omloop Nieuwsblad and the E3 Classic but missed a Monument victory for the first time since 2021. His next race start is not until the Tour de France in July. Mountain Bike World Championships is August 26-30 in Val di Sole, Italy. His motivation to target a mountain bike world title is to complete a career sweep of rainbow jerseys in road (he has one), cyclocross (eight and counting), and mountain bike, which he's never done. "No one has ever won in all disciplines, so it would be a historic victory," he said. And that's true – for men. But Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has won world titles on the road and in cyclocross and mountain bike (plus Olympic gold in MTB), while her Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Marianne Vos has rainbow jerseys on the road (3), track (2), and in cyclocross (8) and gravel.