Mathieu Van der Pol (Kollendon Circus) told Dutch media that he will likely debut in the 2021 Tour de France The 24-year-old will not compete in the French Grand Tour next year, instead competing on a mountain bike Tokyo Olympics, where he will compete in mountain biking.

"I want to be at the Games next year and I won't be riding the Tour anyway because the two events don't overlap well on the calendar," van der Pol said.

"Participating in the Vuelta a España might be an option, but I haven't thought about that yet, and there is certainly the possibility of appearing at the start of the 2021 Tour, but nothing has been decided on that either."

Van der Pol was awarded the Gerrit Schulte Trophy for the best Dutch male professional cyclist for his outstanding 2019 season at the NUSport Awards on Wednesday. He won Dutch, European, and world titles in cyclocross, three World Cups in mountain biking, and a series of races on the road, including Amstel Gold. He took over the prestigious Gerrit Schulte trophy from Tom Dumoulin, who had won it for the past five consecutive years.

Belgian Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma) made his debut at this year's Tour de France, winning stage 10 in Albi. However, he was forced to abandon the race after a big crash in the time trial in Pau on stage 13.

Van der Pol said he was inspired by Van Aert's success in this year's French Grand Tour and believes he can achieve similar results.

"I wasn't looking at him with jealousy, but what he showed me was beautiful. 'Wout and I joined forces and reached a high level. His performance in the Tour shows what I can do in that race. It makes me dream a little bit. If Wout had been able to win that sprint, normally I would have been there too ......."

.

After taking a break after the road season, van der Pol returned to cyclocross racing, winning the European Championships, Tabor's World Cup, Superprestige Rudervoorde, and Niel-Jermarkt cyclocross.

His season continues this weekend with the Ambiancecross (November 23) and the UCI World Cup in Koksijde (November 24), followed by the DVV Trofee Kortrijk (November 30) with an eye on the World Championships in February.