Home » Sport » These are the five most beautiful victories of Mathieu | Cycling

These are the five most beautiful victories of Mathieu | Cycling

Top 5Mathieu van der Poel (25) wins so often and so special, but it never gets normal. He ranked his victory in the Tour of Flanders among his ‘most beautiful victories’, but there are now many. Therefore the ‘Most Beautiful of Mathieu, a top 5’.


Daan Hakkenberg

19 Oct. 2020
Latest update:
22:14




1. Tour of Flanders, October 2020

Definitely one. Anyone who really wants to know what Mathieu van der Poel feels about a victory – or defeat – should especially look at him carefully. His tears tell the story, even more than the words he speaks afterwards. Van der Poel is kind to father Adrie, is always polite and naturally speaks in understatements. Not to be confused with nonchalance or contempt. About the decisive moment in the Tour of Flanders – the fall of Julian Alaphilippe, after which he is still 35 kilometers ahead with Wout van Aert – says Van der Poel: ,, It was immediately clear that the two of us would go to the sprint. to drive.”

This seems a factual representation of what happened, but what Van der Poel is actually saying is that he and Van Aert are head and shoulders above the rest. Nobody in the peloton, nor in the chasing group with Naesen, Bettiol, Kristoff, Degenkolb and Van Baarle, among others, is able to get close.

The fight between Van der Poel and Van Aert is what makes the 2020 Tour of Flanders so special. Corona shuts down public life, creates silence along the course, but the two classic kings are unstoppable. Van der Poel and Van Aert, rivals since their teens, finally competed against each other on Flemish cobblestone slopes with a millimeter sprint as the ultimate bonus. What more does the enthusiast want. “I think it is one of my best victories. It is a monument and the way in which I can be very proud. ”

It is a typical Van der Poel understatement.

Mathieu van der Poel and his girlfriend Roxanne are very happy after the finish in the Tour of Flanders. © photo: Cor Vos

2. Amstel Gold Race, april 2019

It is the crowning glory of an unprecedented spring. In 2019, Van der Poel, who became Dutch champion on the road eight months earlier, will drive a major road program for the first time. His class on the bike is no longer a secret, but what Van der Poel does exceeds everyone’s expectations. His first race – Nokere Koerse – ends after a hard fall on the cobbles in an ambulance. Then he wins three times with GP de Denain, Dwars door Vlaanderen and Brabantse Pijl. In Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders he finished fourth. So on April 21, at the start of the Amstel Gold Race in Maastricht, all eyes are on Van der Poel.

Five kilometers before the finish, nobody gives anything for their chances. Alaphilippe, Fuglsang and Kwiatkowski think to sprint for the victory, but – just like the rest of the world – they counted outside Van der Poel. From beaten position he drives to the top of the race and with a sprint XL he follows in the footsteps of father Adrie, who won the Amstel Gold Race in 1990. The Netherlands has a new cycling hero.

And of course this victory also gets a prominent place in their own top 5, My best victory so far. Next to or just above the first World Cup cyclocross. ”


Van der Poel counted out after his feat in the Amstel Gold Race.

Van der Poel counted out after his feat in the Amstel Gold Race. © ANP

3. World Cup cyclocross, February 2015

Because a Van der Poel top 5 without a victory in the cross is impossible. Cyclocross is the first and great passion for cycling of Van der Poel, who considers mountain biking even more fun. But it is difficult to choose from Van der Poel’s more than 130 crossover victories. In his parents’ computer room hang three rainbow jerseys – Van Aert has just as many – but the most special world title is the first in the Czech Tábor.

Two weeks earlier, Van der Poel turned 20 and that cross season he still rides regularly with the promises. Sven Nys has been the big man in the mud for years, but with a one-man show on the slopes around Tábor, Van der Poel shows that a new era is coming. He will be the youngest cyclocross world champion ever, 19 years after his father Adrie’s world title. “That was really my breakthrough. After that everything went very quickly. ”


Van der Poel on his way to the world title in Tábor.

Van der Poel on his way to the world title in Tábor. © AP

4. Dutch National Championship on the road, July 2018

The cycling world might have looked different if Van der Poel had not become Dutch champion in 2018. It is that red, white and blue champion jersey that ensures that Van der Poel will switch to the road next season. “Normally we wanted to wait with that. But I did not want to pass up the opportunity to ride in a national jersey for a spring. ”

Van der Poel will ride a home game on July 1, 2018. Father Adrie comes from Hoogerheide and is the organizer and course builder of the cyclo-cross World Cup competition in the Brabant village where Mathieu van der Poel has won for years in a row. The hill finish on this NK is exactly the same as with that cross.

Van der Poel is everywhere at the Dutch championship. In the early breakaway, then again in the counter-attack and in the final sprint where Danny van Poppel and Ramon Sinkeldam are expertly referred to places two and three. And what do you think Van der Poel says about that victory a year ago? “That NK on the road is one of the best victories so far. Because it was in their own region, but also because of the way in which. ”


Van der Poel beats Van Poppel in the sprint.

Van der Poel beats Van Poppel in the sprint. © heart you

5. Binck Bank Tour, stage 5 & overall victory in 2020

It is not the most prestigious race, but the way in which Van der Poel rides the entire peloton of the Binck Bank Tour in the final stage to Geraardsbergen is rarely shown. At 75 kilometers from the finish, he attacks, 50 kilometers he rides solo and crosses the line alone.

Attacking is his trademark and Van der Poel is a solo specialist, but this was of a different order, he says afterwards. “This was one of the toughest solos I’ve driven in my career.”

Because Paris-Roubaix will probably be canceled, Van der Poel decides to drive to Liège immediately after the finish, where he finishes sixth in the classic Liège-Bastogne-Liège a day later. “I am very happy with the form I have. The conclusion for me: I am super. ”

What’s called: two weeks later Van der Poel wins the Tour of Flanders. The best victory of his career, but that could be different in a few months.


Van der Poel tired but satisfied after his impressive solo in the Binckbank Tour.

Van der Poel tired but satisfied after his impressive solo in the Binckbank Tour. © BELGA

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.