When will Pidcock and MVDP race MTB?

Both stars will race MTB this season but the question is when

Multidisciplinary stars Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel are both expected to line up in mountain bike races this year, with a potential showdown at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Crans Montana, Switzerland. When might we see them in the dirt?

Pidcock has more recent mountain bike palmeres, of course, with numerous World Cup wins and two Olympic gold medals, but he hasn’t announced any MTB calendar for 2025 yet. He has, however, published his spring road calendar.

His season starts this week at Ruta del Sol before tackling Strade Bianche and stretching until the Ardennes Classics in April. This packed spring schedule means he is unlikely to contest the first World Cups of the season in Brazil.

That’s similar to what happened last year, with the Briton not lining up at the World Cup until the Nove Mesto round in late May, where he won the XCO and placed seventh in the XCC.

Pidcock made headlines earlier this winter when it was announced that he’ll still ride a Pinarello mountain bike, rather than the Scott brand that his Q36.5 team rides on the road.

Mathieu van der Poel also has Classics goals so isn’t likely to be on the World Cup until later in the season—possibly until after the Tour de France.

"It is an ideal moment to focus on mountain biking again and to make the world title a big goal after the Tour de France,” he said. “The plan is to do a few World Cup races too if it's possible, I definitely want to do it. But that is only possible if it fits within my schedule.”

"It's the last piece of the puzzle that I'm missing. I really want to win the mountain bike world title. And with the Worlds in Rwanda, it's ideal to focus only on mountain biking.”

That goal is made more challenging without recent mountain bike experience. While the Dutch rider was winning often earlier in his career, his most recent MTB performances have been disastrous. He crashed in both the Tokyo Olympics and at the 2023 World Championships, which isn’t the best track record.

It will certainly be interesting to see him toe up against the likes of Pidcock, Victor Koretzky, and possibly Alan Hatherly.

Vader and Christen on Q36.5 mountain bike team

According to the UCI Teams List, Pidcock could be joined in the dirt by Q36.5 teammates Milan Vader and Fabio Chisten.

Vader was a regular name on the mountain bike scene before beginning his road career with Jumbo-Visma in 2022. That year, he suffered a life threatening crash, but the Dutch racer has recovered and is continuing his career with Q36.5. A return to the MTB circuit would be exciting indeed.

Less is known about Fabio Christen’s MTB abilities. The Swiss racer doesn’t appear to have much experience other than on the road. He placed fifth in a stage at the Arctic Race of Norway last year and just won a 1.1 race in Spain last week, so he definitely looks fast in terms of power.

How do you think Pidcock and MVDP will fare this season on the MTB? Let me know in the comments.