Adrie van der Poel : «Behind Kelly, I was still pleased»
March 24 th 2026 - 10:56
Adrie van der Poel : «Behind Kelly, I was still pleased»
In the famous lineage stretching from Raymond Poulidor to Mathieu van der Poel, Adrie, father of the “Flying Dutchman”, was also a great specialist in cyclo-cross and the Classics. In the first discipline, he claimed the rainbow jersey with a world championship title in 1996. Earlier, he had won two Monuments on the road (Ronde van Vlaanderen 1986, Liège–Bastogne–Liège 1988), but the one he cherished above all, Paris–Roubaix, always eluded him. It was not for lack of trying: 14 participations (as many as Boonen, De Vlaeminck… or even Poulidor). Often, he went into the race aiming for victory, notably in 1986, just a week after having dominated Sean Kelly in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, the other prestigious cobbled race. In the Hell of the North, the hierarchy reversed in the small-group sprint that separated the Irishman and the Dutchman, with the Belgian Rudy Dhaenens also ahead. Adrie van der Poel was only 26. Many conquests still awaited him, but Roubaix remained beyond his reach.
Adrie van der Poel
Born on 17 June 1959 in Hoogerheide, Netherlands
Teams: DAF Trucks (1981–1982), Jacky Aernoudt-Rossin-Campagnolo (1983), Kwantum (1984–1986), PDM (1987–1988), Weinmann (1989–1990), Tulip Computers (1991–1992), Mercatone Uno (1993), Collstrop (1994–1995), Rabobank (1996–2000)
Major victories:
Liège-Bastogne-Liège 1988 / Ronde van Vlaanderen 1986 / Amstel Gold Race 1990 / Clasica San Sebastián 1985 / Cyclo-cross World Champion 1996
Paris–Roubaix results:
1982: 32nd / 1983: 6th / 1985: 9th / 1986: 3rd / 1987: 37th / 1988: 18th / 1989: 18th / 1990: 10th / 1991: 25th / 1992: 14th / 1993: 5th / 1994: 16th / 1995: 58th / 1996: DNF
Distinctive feature: “Finally, a Van der Poel who wins!” Adrie van der Poel has seen his son Mathieu inscribe their name on the roll of honour of the Queen of the Classics—not just once, but three times (2023, 2024, 2025): “He’s a boy who surprises me all the time. This year, I think he’s ready again. There’s no guarantee, but in any case he’s done everything to be ready.”
1986, The year he came closest
“That year, I was really strong.” When he lined up at the start in Compiègne in search of glory, Adrie van der Poel looked every bit the contender. He had just won the Ronde van Vlaanderen, demonstrating exceptional physical and tactical mastery, following a particularly successful start to the season. At 26, he had already proven himself in the Hell of the North, finishing 6th in 1983 when his teammate and compatriot Hennie Kuiper took victory a year after another Dutchman’s success, Jan Raas’s. Now it was Van der Poel’s turn ? Confidence was at its peak. And even the weather favoured him. “Those were the conditions I preferred, a dry Sunday after a week of rain,” he smiles. “I loved it. Some riders like climbing, I like riding on wet cobbles!” Wearing the Kwantum jersey, Van der Poel avoided all the pitfalls and rode confidently towards Roubaix, where the finish was exceptionally held in the city (it would return to the velodrome from 1989). “I was feeling good, I hadn’t had any misfortunes in the race,” he recalls. Four men contested the sprint. Van den Haute launched with 300 metres to go, Van der Poel followed… and Kelly beat them all to claim a second Roubaix cobble victory, after his triumph in 1984. “I probably didn’t ride the smartest sprint of my career,” Van der Poel admits. “I was already very happy to be at the front, almost certain of a podium place. So I wasn’t 100% focused on winning the race.”
Sean Kelly, his greatest rival
Four times, Adrie van der Poel and Sean Kelly shared the podium of a Monument. And each time, one of the two stood on the top step to receive the winner’s honours. At the 1986 Ronde van Vlaanderen, the Dutchman shone. The other three occasions (Il Lombardia 1983 and 1985, Roubaix 1986) went in Kelly’s favour. “He’s perhaps the best rider of the 1980s–1990s,” Van der Poel says, genuinely admiring. “I have great respect for him. Of course, I raced to win. But when I finished second or third behind Kelly, I was still pleased all the same. For me, he’s truly one of the greatest riders in history.” With over 150 victories on the road (compared to around fifty for Van der Poel), the Irishman stood out for both the quantity and diversity of his successes. “He was there all the time, from the Étoile de Bessèges to Lombardy,” emphasizes his Dutch rival. “It could be snowing, it could be hot… he never complained and he always raced. He was truly extraordinary. After our careers, we had many conversations and became close.”
Regrets...
" I really thought I would win this race one day,” Van der Poel confirms, thirty years after his last participation in Paris–Roubaix. “And yet, it’s one of the few Classics I never won. When you win the Flanders, the Amstel, San Sebastián, Liège… that’s a great palmarès! But for me, Roubaix would have really counted. It was my favourite race! On the other hand, I never thought I’d win Liège. But that’s how it goes, nothing more to say… I’m not going to win it now!” At the time, the third-place finisher was already putting things in perspective, before later realising that a rare opportunity had slipped away. “I had won the Ronde van Vlaanderen the week before, then finished second at Liège a week later; so it was a very good start to the season,” he recalls. “But a few years later, especially at the end of your career, you say: ‘Damn, I missed a chance to win a great race, my favourite. That’s really a shame.’” Further from the podium, his 18th place in 1988 also left regrets: “That was one of the best races I ever rode in Roubaix. Dirk De Mol (winner) and Thomas Wegmuller (2nd) were exceptional, leading all day. Behind, there were only two of us pulling, Sean Kelly and me. We rode flat out, before cracking in the last ten kilometres. I was really disappointed not to get a better result with such legs. But, well, the race was very open, we lacked teammates, it happens.”
... But an eternal love
The Hell of the North waited for Mathieu to crown a Van der Poel, but it immediately captivated Adrie, who first tackled these cobbles in 1981 as a neo-pro, even if he had to wait until the following year for his first official participation. “I was so disappointed not to be selected,” he recalls, “but I understand, because at that time we had two great leaders, Hennie Kuiper and Roger De Vlaeminck.” At 22, he made his debut in the Hell of the North (32nd). He returned every year (except in 1984), up to 1996, to face the unique challenges of Paris-Roubaix. “Sometimes there are a few cobbled sections in the Tour de France, but otherwise it’s a course you ride only once a year,” he explains. “Whereas if you do the Omloop, Kuurne, E3, Waregem… you encounter most of the climbs from the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Arenberg, you pass it only once a year. And that was really special for me.” Another major distinction: “Riding on flat cobbles or on climbs is completely different,” he insists. He successfully mastered the climbs of the Ronde, without ever conquering the Hell of the North… But “for me, the most beautiful was Paris–Roubaix.”
