KNWU considers dual Olympic campaign for van der Poel and Pieterse at LA 2028
After the announcement of the competition schedule for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, the Royal Dutch Cycling Union (KNWU) began exploring how road cycling and mountain biking could be combined for two of its standout riders: Mathieu van der Poel and Puck Pieterse.
Schedule opens opportunity for cross-discipline plans
According to KNWU’s technical director, a dual participation is “possible” given the spacing in the Olympic schedule. The men’s cross-country mountain bike race will take place five days before the road race on Sunday, July 23, while the women’s events are separated by three days.
This timing may allow athletes to recover adequately between races, something that was difficult to manage during previous Olympic cycles.
Van der Poel’s renewed interest in mountain biking
Van der Poel, who skipped the mountain bike event at Paris 2024, has expressed a strong interest in returning to the discipline, aiming to redeem himself after his crash during the Tokyo 2021 Games. Over the current season, he has raced several off-road events, including two World Cup rounds and the XCO World Championships in Switzerland, where he achieved a sixth-place finish.
“The combination with MTB was too difficult,” said van der Poel last year. “But who knows, maybe in LA28 I can focus on mountain biking.”
Focus and flexibility for future success
Although he previously called skipping mountain biking “the most logical choice” for 2024, van der Poel has not ruled out competing in both disciplines in Los Angeles. The KNWU is assessing how to balance training schedules and recovery periods for multi-event athletes like him and Pieterse, who also competes successfully across road and mountain bike disciplines.
Author’s Summary
The Dutch cycling federation is considering dual entries for van der Poel and Pieterse at the 2028 Olympics, leveraging a favorable schedule that may make competing in both road and MTB realistic.