One list, one leader, no doubt
Koos Moerenhout did not need long to decide on the name at the top. Mathieu van der Poel will lead the Netherlands in the 2026 road race at the World Championships in Montreal.
The national coach named his squad on Thursday. Eight riders. Van der Poel, Daan Hoole, Bart Lemmen, Tim van Dijke, Bauke Mollema, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Menno Huising and Mathijs Paasschens. Hoole will also ride the individual time trial.
The Worlds will take place from 20 to 27 September in Canada.
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World champion in 2023, now what?
Van der Poel has already worn the rainbow jersey on the road. That came in 2023, in Glasgow. Since then, he has raced just about everything on two wheels, and won plenty of it.
Montreal will be one of his big end-of-season targets. A second road world title does not happen by accident.
The Dutch federation says it has gone for balance across the squad. Riders to light things up. Riders to last. Riders to empty the tank for the team. Moerenhout is clear on that point: the Canadian course could throw up several different races, and his leader will not be able to do it all alone.
Mollema, the final one
There is one name that jumps off the page in this squad. Bauke Mollema, 39, is in his final professional season.
He had said Kigali would be his last Worlds. He has changed his mind. Moerenhout did not hesitate: the veteran’s experience is still worth having, especially in a race lasting more than six hours, when the mind starts to go before the legs do.
One last ride in orange, then. For a rider who built a career on appearing where nobody expected him, it feels about right.
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