Adrie van der Poel reveals banter exchanged with Mathieu before CX World Championships

Van der Poel senior says that his sons cyclo-cross season has been ‘perfect’ preparation for a strong start to the cobbled classics

Mathieu van der Poel
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Adrie van der Poel, father of Mathieu and former professional cyclist, has said that there will be no room for error as his son gets set to battle for the cyclo-cross world title on Sunday in the Netherlands.

Due to their tightly packed schedules, Van der Poel senior has not spoken much to Mathieu in the build-up to Sunday’s race, a contest that's widely anticipated to be a two way scrap between his son and Wout van Aert.

However speaking exclusively to Cycling Weekly, he revealed that they had found time for a father and son coffee catch-up as well as an exchange of light-hearted banter via WhatsApp.

“I sent him a WhatsApp this week. He was not pleased that I couldn’t help clean his bike and he had to do it by himself,” he joked. “That’s what he told me.” 

"We drank a coffee together on Monday morning, then the rest of the week I haven’t heard much from him. He has a lot of training to do before Sunday and he will join up with the national team on Friday I think,” he said. “I think I won’t see him now until Sunday morning.”

Van der Poel senior, himself a former winner of the cyclo-cross world championships as well as multiple prestigious races on the road, explained that he warned his son mistakes will be costly against Van Aert in Hoogerheide.

“The most important thing is that he passes the finish line first,” Van der Poel joked. “It will be very muddy on Sunday, and a lot of wind. I’ve said that it will be the little mistakes that make the difference.”

FLANDERS HAT-TRICK "EASIER" THAN A MAIDEN PARIS-ROUBAIX VICTORY

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Tom Thewlis
News and Features Writer

Tom has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine. 

Since joining the team, he has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the World Championships in Glasgow. He has also covered major races elsewhere across the world. As well as on the ground reporting, Tom writes race reports from the men's and women's WorldTour and focuses on coverage of UK domestic cycling.