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Watch: Mathieu van der Poel outlines his transition to XC racing

Former cyclocross and road world champion eyes World Cup and world championships in 2018

Mathieu van der Poel is well known in cyclocross circles as a generational talent who at only 23-years-old has already won a world championship title and counts numerous high profile victories to his name. In road cycling he has been world junior champion and now in XC mountain biking he is beginning to make a considerable impact. The first time he rode a mountain bike was three years ago and he is already riding a wave of momentum to the top of the sport.

Van der Poel was second to Nino Schurter at the Albstadt World Cup in 2017 and has started this season with some strong wins in Spain before third at his World Cup debut in Albstadt this year. The Dutchman has made the transition to mountain biking in order to target the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where he hopes to earn a medal. He’s already shown what he can do but 2018 will be his first summer fully focused on the sport.