Mathieu van der Poel has said the evolution of cycling meant it would be impossible to maintain the intense lifestyle for lengthy periods and he believed the very young riders who have broke into the top tier of the sport in recent years would not have lengthy careers.
He was speaking just after Alejandro Valverde and Vincenzo Nibali retired; Valverde aged 42 years and Nibali aged 37 years. Van der Poel said he felt mentally and physically empty and believed he could not sustain for so many years the effort and lifestyle he had been living during the first phase of his career.
“This season, the mental fatigue is greater than the physical fatigue,” said the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider. “There's not really much left in the tank. The Gravel World Championship was something I really wanted to do because it was a little bit special, but after that there were two more races. I will be happy if I can take a short break after Friday."
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“Last week I read somewhere an interview with Serge Pauwels in which he said that the riders of the new generation will only last until a maximum of 35. And I agree with that, that is the evolution of cycling. Look at someone like Juan Ayuso, who makes it to the podium of a Grand Tour at the age of 19. It is impossible for me to keep this up for 15 years, but then I speak for myself. But the way I feel now, I'm definitely not going to continue until I'm 40 years old."
Van der Poel also suggested he would take a break and then come back to racing cyclocross, probably towards the end of next month. That would mean he would be back racing again when the UCI World Cup Dublin round takes place in December.
“I will decide after my break when I will start my cyclocross season. I think it will be sometime at the end of November, but I'm not sure yet. What I do know for sure: I'm only going to ride one Grand Tour next year. This season it was a bit special because I was able to take the pink in the Giro. But normally I will do it as usual: ride 10 to 15 crosses, prepare for spring, take a rest and go to the Tour."
