Mathieu van der Poel on historic 2023 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games aims – ‘It will maybe never happen again’

Mathieu van der Poel has admitted that he may never to able to reproduce what he did during his historic 2023 season.

Van der Poel was in immense form in 2023, winning gold not only in the cyclo-cross and road cycling World Championships but also triumphing at Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix.

“Yeah, it was a really special season and it will be really difficult to do it the same or better… is impossible, I think. But for sure, I’m aware of the fact that it was unique and it will maybe never happen again.

“If I have to pick one. I think the World Championships is something I was always dreaming of, so it was maybe the nicest victory of last year.”

Van der Poel also touched on his goals for the year, saying that he will try and target similar races to last season, as well as going for the Olympics.

He was also full of praise for team-mate Jasper Philipsen, for whom he has played the role of lead-out man.

Van der Poel said that he thinks they are a great team.

“I think it’s mainly the same as I did last year, for sure. It’s a bit of a strange year with the Olympics, which is also a goal for me. But yeah, mainly, the big races I target are the same as last year, and then I’ll be at the Olympics.

“Actually, it’s really nice to do it for him [Philipsen]. He also appreciates and trusts the things I do for him, and I think we’re a really good combination, so I kind of like to do it for him.

“We had a really good season – especially with Jasper in the Tour was also super successful. So I think we try to improve every year. We will do so next year, but it will be difficult for the team in general to do better than this year.”

Van der Poel wasn’t the only superstar we heard from during the show, with Elisa Longo Borghini also joining to talk about her aims for the year.

The Italian was very clear that everything for her is geared towards the Olympics.

“It’s such a condensed year where you really need to choose wisely where you want to peak. So the Ardennes, that week, the Giro, and it’s an Olympic year – so yeah, the Olympics would be a big goal for me also. And these three good appointments are my highlights.”

She also discussed what makes Paris-Roubaix such a unique race.

“Paris-Roubaix is a pretty special race. We always start with was with the one leader. But then I think what is really important for a race like that is just to embrace the chaos and to expect everything from this race.

“It’s such a special and hard race to read that you basically need a good plan A, a good plan B and a good plan C, but you always need to be ready to go for plan F.

“Normally, we are using a “domane”, which is a special bike for cobbles, the tires are much wider, We use like 30, 32 and the setup is different. We use the 37 V, which is a special wheel for Roubaix.

“We have the “isospeed” that is especially made for absorbing vibration, and I think for us it is the best bike we can use for that race.”