Dutchman returns to racing at Nové Město later this month as Alpecin-Deceuninck reveal schedules for Puck Pieterse and Sam Gaze
Mathieu van der Poel is scheduled to resume competition at the end of May, shifting to mountain biking for a round of the UCI World Cup in Nové Město.
The Dutch rider, who last competed during the spring Classics—capping his campaign with a third Paris-Roubaix win on April 13—will represent Alpecin-Deceuninck from May 23-25 as he re-enters the cross-country mountain bike circuit.
Van der Poel’s last appearance in a World Cup round came in 2021, when he claimed short-track victories in Albstadt and Nové Město.
He went on to participate in the Tokyo Olympics that same year but suffered a crash early in the mountain bike race, resulting in lingering back issues that continued into 2022. In 2023, he competed in the Paris Olympics test event but did not take part in the actual Olympic MTB race.
In recent years, Van der Poel has focused on cyclocross and road cycling, achieving significant success with three cyclocross world titles and seven Monument victories since 2021.
Although rumours suggested a return to mountain biking this weekend in Heubach, Germany, Van der Poel will instead compete in Czechia at the third UCI World Cup round of the season. His return is part of a broader plan targeting the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Following Nové Město, Van der Poel will turn his focus back to the road for the summer, including a Tour de France campaign.
He is expected to return to mountain biking after July, according to Alpecin-Deceuninck, who stated that “a detailed program will be announced later,” with the UCI MTB World Championships in September being a major end-of-season target.
The team also revealed the upcoming MTB race schedule for world champion Puck Pieterse and New Zealand’s Sam Gaze.
Both riders are slated to race at the HC event in Heubach on May 18, followed by the next three UCI World Cup rounds.
Alongside Nové Město, Pieterse and Gaze are scheduled to race in Leogang, Austria (June 5-8) and Val di Sole, Italy (June 20-22). Gaze will go on to compete in Andorra (July 9-13), with Pieterse listed as a provisional starter, depending on her participation in the Tour de France Femmes in July.
Both Pieterse and Gaze skipped the opening World Cup rounds in Brazil—Pieterse to focus on the Spring Classics and Gaze due to illness.
This weekend (May 16-18), the UCI Mountain Bike World Series continues with downhill and enduro competitions in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, ahead of the third cross-country round in Nové Město the following week.
