David van der Poel: the rider who never really stepped out of Mathieu's shadow (but didn't necessarily want to)

The fact that the van der Poel family is a true cycling family hardly needs further explanation. David van der Poel was born on June 15, 1992, as the son of former world cyclo-cross champion Adrie van der Poel and the grandson of Raymond Poulidor. From an early age, it was clear that the Belgium-born Dutchman's cycling genes were more than adequate...

Just like Mathieu (more on him later), David is an extremely talented and gifted cyclo-cross rider. David wasn't necessarily a frequent winner, but he was someone who could regularly compete with the best in the race. For instance, in the 2009-2010 cyclo-cross season, David managed to become the Dutch national cyclo-cross champion, something he repeated in 2012-2013 among the under-23 category. In 2010, he also added the overall victory in the Cyclo-cross World Cup for juniors to his list of achievements.

David was not only a cyclo-cross rider, as the scion of the cycling family also participated in various road races from a young age. In 2011, he joined the formation of BKCP-Powerplus, a Continental cycling brigade under the guidance of the Roodhooft brothers. This team was both a cyclo-cross team and a road cycling team, with riders such as Gianni Vermeersch, Niels Albert and Philipp Walsleben among its ranks. In his debut year, David participated in several second-tier races and generally finished in the middle of the pack, likely with the cyclo-cross season in mind.

The winter of 2011-2012 was David's second cyclo-cross season in the under-23 category. He particularly excelled in the mid-phase, achieving numerous close podium finishes (in races often won by Lars van der Haar). In 2012, he participated in fewer road races, followed by an impressive cyclo-cross season. Not only did David become the under-23 champion at the Dutch National Cyclo-cross Championships, but the BKCP rider also won the Superprestige race in Hamme-Zogge. He also triumphed in the Cauberg cyclo-cross race in Valkenburg at the end of that season. An interesting fact: Wout van Aert finished third in that race, nearly a minute behind.

David thus had a strong cyclo-cross season. He continued this success on the road, achieving several top-ten finishes in the 2.2-level Flèche du Sud race in Luxembourg, as well as in the International Thüringen Rundfahrt U23. He also showcased his powerful sprint in the Baltic Chain Tour. A strong 2013 season continued into the cyclo-cross field. David established himself as a regular top ten (and sometimes even top five) finisher in the under-23 category, while it became clear that his versatile and technically gifted younger brother Mathieu had surpassed him. The latter was frequently battling Van Aert for victories, while David was involved in the competition for the most beautiful honorary finishes.

In 2014, still representing the colors of BKCP, David experienced a slightly less successful road season, which was followed by his first cyclo-cross season in the elite category. At times, he seemed to struggle with his step up to 'the adults'. David continued to accumulate podium finishes, although these were mostly in 'B-level' cyclo-cross races. In the Superprestige and World Cup races, David didn't quite hit his stride, although he did manage to claim the silver medal at the Dutch National Championships won by his brother Mathieu.

What we described in the paragraphs above became characteristic for the rest of David's career. Mathieu became stronger each year, both on the road and in cyclo-cross (and sometimes in mountain biking), while David somewhat remained at the same level. He did win, but mostly in cyclo-cross races of the second-highest level. However, there were regularly positive outliers for David, who showcased his innate talent on certain days. At the 2016 Cyclo-cross World Championships, he achieved an impressive sixth place, he even won the 2017 Zilvermeercross in Mol, and in early 2018, he raced to a third place in the Superprestige in Hoogstraten.

Many podium finishes in cyclo-cross, many on the road. That pretty much sums up David's career, as he only once got to raise his hands in victory in a road race. He won the opening stage of the Tour Alsace (2.2) after a sprint from a reduced group. That victory was achieved in the jersey of Corendon-Circus, highlighting the close bond between him and the Roodhooft brothers - which also applied to Mathieu. Between 2011 and 2015, the team was called BKCP-Powerplus, in 2015 and 2016 Beobank-Corendon, in 2018 and 2019 Corendon-Circus, and from then on Alpecin became involved in the sponsorship. In short, David's entire career was dedicated to the well-known cycling brothers.

Like Mathieu, David also frequently suffered from a back problem. Despite treatments, this chronic injury only worsened. Mathieu often managed to cope with it surprisingly well (though not always), but David seemed to have more difficulty. David still raced a fair number of events each year, but was no longer able to peak as he once did. In recent years, his back problem became increasingly severe, which was evident in an extremely short race schedule during the 2022-2023 cyclo-cross season. Races with a lot of twists and turns were skipped because they were too taxing on his back. In 2023, he took a step back, moving towards the training team of Alpecin-Deceuninck.

David never stepped out of the shadow of his brother Mathieu, who by then seemed capable of winning any race. However, he didn't want to either. He also refrained from drawing comparisons with the voracious Mathieu. "Mathieu and I are on the same team, have been in the same environment for a long time and we obviously share a lot. But I only need to look at my own situation. I'm not jealous, but rather incredibly proud. I enjoy watching the races he participates in on TV. Watching with or without his presence gives a different dimension. Sometimes, when I think about it, I tell myself it must be nice to have his legs, his abilities, to race like he does. But there's no point in comparing, as it won't change the situation. I know what Mathieu has to do to reach his level and I'm aware of the intense training he has to endure. I couldn't do it," he stated earlier this year.

David also didn't really talk much about racing with Mathieu. "Mathieu just sees me as his brother. Very simple actually. We normally don't participate in the same races. When we see each other, we also talk about things other than cycling. Mentally it's important to avoid always being fixated on the races," he explained in the same interview.

On October 17, 2023, David participated in the Sluitingsprijs Putte-Kapellen, a race in his home region. 'The brother of' finished an impressive second, but it was primarily the unexpected news that dominated the cycling press. David had announced his intention to retire from racing. "My contract was ending. I had a meeting with the team a while ago, and we concluded that it was better to call it quits. When that happened? About two months ago," he elaborated, adding context to the surprising announcement.

True to his character, David didn't want a grand farewell. "That's not who I am or what I want. I prefer not to have too much fuss around my farewell," he said. "The people around me already knew, but beyond that, I tried to think about it as little as possible. I'm going to rest now and let everything sink in. I haven't really thought about the next steps in my life." All we can say to that is: best of luck, David!