Van der Poel: I'll continue mountain biking even if I win gold in Tokyo Olympics

Men's Mountain Bike Cross-Country on Day Six of the European Championships Glasgow 2018 at Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails on August 7, 2018 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Mathieu van der Poel in action on the mountain bike at the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Alpecin-Fenix star Mathieu van der Poel has confirmed that he will continue to race across multiple disciplines to the next Olympic Games in 2024, regardless of whether he wins gold in Tokyo this year.

Following a successful spring on the road, the Dutchman is back racing on the mountain bike, winning the short circuit cross-country race at the Albstadt World Cup on Saturday before going on to finish seventh at the main race later in the day.

Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.

Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix –  'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.