Van der Poel will start his CX season at the end of December and could be in La Vuelta 2024

World champion Mathieu van der Poel was the absolute star of this weekend's Madrid Criterium, where he won despite being in the middle of his holiday period. He also had time to make some statements about his upcoming cyclo-cross season and a possible participation in next year's La Vuelta.

Mathieu van der Poel considers taking part in La Vuelta a España 2024

Everyone wanted a photo with him and the Dutchman more than delivered. Van der Poel arrived in Madrid as the star of the event and he played his role to perfection. He won and allowed himself to be filmed, photographed and questioned as rarely seen before.

But apart from the victory, on the sporting side he made some interesting statements for the near future and for the next season. First of all he confirmed that his cyclo-cross season will consist of 10 to 15 races and will start at the end of December, where he will also wear the rainbow jersey he won less than a year ago. So looking at the CX World Cup calendar, he could be expected to make his debut at the Belgian races in Namur, Antwerp or Gavere, between December 17 and 26. The CX World Championships (4 February 2024 in Tabor, Czech Republic) will again be the last CX race of his season.

To finish the interview he gave to Eurosport he left a headline that only time will tell if it was to please the Spanish fans present there or if it is really something he is contemplating for 2024. When asked about a possible participation in La Vuelta, Van der Poel said that it is a race that could suit him next year after his participation in the MTB race at the Paris Olympics (Monday 29 July at 14:00). Although it is worth remembering that just a few weeks ago he also stated that he was considering the idea of taking part in the Tour and 8 days later competing in the Olympic Games in MTB, as Tom Pidcock is planning to do.