Is Mathieu van der Poel Retiring from Cyclocross? Here’s What He Is Saying Right Now

Winning his eighth world cyclocross title on Sunday marked an absolute record for Mathieu van der Poel, but it’s not his first historic achievement this season.

One week ago he raced to a classy victory in Hoogerheide. It was, remarkably, the 51st World Cup victory of his cross career, and moved him past the 50 win mark previously held by Sven Nys.

In surpassing multiple world championship winner Erik de Vlaeminck this Sunday and eclipsing Nys last weekend, Van der Poel has marked himself out as the best cyclocross rider of all time.

Even his current and former competitors are admitting that.

“It is an honor that I have been able to win 50 of them,” Nys told Sporza last week.

“That record stood for 10 years and this weekend it is broken by a very fine name. He is the best cyclo-cross rider who has ever raced.”

Wout van Aert was also quick to laud his arch rival.

“He is undoubtedly the greatest cyclocross rider of all time,” the Belgian said, speaking on the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast of Laurens ten Dam.

However the prospect of Van der Poel further extending those two records is very much up in the air. He has himself hinted at a possible retirement from this area of the sport, telling HLN.be in December that it is a possibility.

“It is something I think about,” he said then. “I have always said it would be very nice to stop in my own country with the record. For the rest, there would not be much more left for me to achieve in cyclocross.”

That led to inevitable speculation, something his father Adrie van der Poel only added to when he talked about the toll the sport takes.

“Mathieu gets home two hours later than everyone else after a cross,” he told Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. “How long did the ceremony in Maasmechelen take? Not normal. And then you get back to the camper, and it’s full of people.”

A good time to stop?

Going out at the top is a big priority for many sportspeople. Van der Poel isn’t talking about leaving cycling; he still wants and plans to race on the road, and has targets he wants to chase there. He also has a contract with Alpecin-Premier Tech until 2028.

However he has also made clear that he doesn’t want to remain in cross so long that his performances drop. Asked by HLN.be about the world championships in Hoogerheide in 2028—again, the year his current contract with Alpecin will end—he said that there is a risk to continuing until then.

“I always wanted to stop at a peak,” he said. “If you get fifth in Hoogerheide… Then there will be an aftertaste.”

His father is part of the organization for that event, and said he won’t put pressure on him to participate.

“Of course we’d love him to race,” he told . “But if he doesn’t, that’s his choice. I respect that completely.”

I’m not saying that I’m going to be a world champion in Hulst, but then I have the choice to do it there.”

He duly did so on Sunday, surpassing the previous record and making even more history.

So what now?

Van der Poel was asked that exact question after receiving his new rainbow jersey.

“Other legends in their sports like [MTB cross-country rider] Nino Schurter and [motocross racer] Stefan Everts have ten world titles. Is it a number that that still motivates you?” said the reporter doing the flash interview.

“Yeah, of course ten is a really nice number,” Van der Poel replied. “But I am already happy with eight with the record. We will see in the future how many more I will participate in.”

That was non-committal, but also important in itself. There was speculation that he could announce a farewell to cyclocross this weekend, but that now won’t happen.

So, is he saying that he needs more time to consider his plans for next season?

“Yeah, like I said before I haven’t decided anything yet,” he answered. “We will see.”

‘Hard to believe’

Van der Poel’s latest statement will see thousands of Dutch fans feeling a little relief.

He won’t race cross forever. But right now, at this exact moment, a decision about stopping or continuing won’t be made.

Next step the classics, and the resumption of his epic battles with Tadej Pogačar and others. And, yes, Van Aert.

Time enough after that and after his other road goals to weigh up the pros and cons about retirement.

But what does Van Aert himself think about the possibility of Van der Poel stopping?

“I found it hard to believe,” he said about the chatter.

“With how dominant he is right now, I think everyone should be happy if Mathieu keeps racing. It’s fantastic to watch him ride.”