The Cycling King's Running Secrets Unveiled!
Mathieu van der Poel, the renowned cycling champion, has left us all in awe with his recent running exploits. But here's where it gets controversial: is he just a fast cyclist, or does he have the potential to be a top-tier runner too?
Published on November 16, 2025, this story reveals van der Poel's impressive 10K run, clocking an astonishing 33 minutes and 52 seconds. That's an average pace of 3:22 per kilometer! But is this pace enough to rival the best runners in the world?
Velon's data suggests otherwise. They recorded van der Poel's 10K time as 33:41, and his 5K time as 16:48. While impressive, these times are not the fastest in the cycling world. Eddie Dunbar, for instance, finished a 5K race in Cork, Ireland, in December 2021 with a time of 15:26, and van der Poel's friend Freddy Ovett ran a 5K in Girona that same month in just 14:41.
Ovett, the son of Olympic gold medalist Steve Ovett, is a natural-born runner, and his blistering pace is a testament to that. But what about van der Poel? Could he be a hidden running talent waiting to be unleashed?
"A guy who can do everything well," says Ovett junior. And it seems he might be right. Average Rob, a social media star, hinted at van der Poel's potential for a full Ironman triathlon, stating, "He's a phenomenon."
Ovett seems to be pushing for this challenge to happen sooner rather than later. He posted on social media that van der Poel would do an Ironman if his reel got 100k likes. With over 90,000 likes and counting, could this be a sign that van der Poel is ready to take on the triathlon world?
The running abilities of cyclists are often overlooked, but as van der Poel and others have shown, they can be surprisingly fast. Greg van Avermaet, for example, won the 40-44 title at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship this month. Tom Dumoulin, a former Tour de France runner-up, clocked an impressive 2:29.21 in the Amsterdam Marathon. And let's not forget Emma Pooley, the 2010 world time trial champion, who won the women's Lausanne Marathon in 2013 with a time of 2:44:29, placing her in the top 20 British women that year.
So, the question remains: is van der Poel just having some fun with his running, or is he secretly training for a triathlon debut? And if so, could he be a force to be reckoned with in the running world too? Only time will tell. But one thing's for sure: his cyclocross rivals might want to watch their backs, because van der Poel's multi-sport talents could give him an edge.
What do you think? Is van der Poel a hidden running champion, or is he just having some fun? Let us know in the comments!
