'I want to peak once' – Mathieu Van der Poel dead set on another cyclocross world title

Mathieu van der Poel won his fifth cyclocross world title in Hoogerheide last season
Mathieu van der Poel won his fifth cyclocross world title in Hoogerheide last season (Image credit: Getty Images)

Mathieu van der Poel will target a sixth cyclocross world title in Tabor next February, returning to the site of his first UCI World Championships victory nearly 10 years on. It will be a full circle moment for the Dutchman who hailed it as a "beautiful memory."

The reigning cyclocross world champion will show off his rainbow stripes for the first time in the 2023-24 season on December 22 at the Exact Cross Mol, but doesn’t seem too pent up about winning every race with only the world title in Tabor at the forefront of his objectives.

James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.