The website mtbdata.com is a great resource for comparing the race records of top riders who have competed against each other. We used it to analyze the head-to-head stats of Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock in mountain biking. All we had to do was enter their names in the search fields for “Rider 1 Name” and “Rider 2 Name” to generate the results. Below are the screenshots of our findings.
Van der Poel and Pidcock have faced each other seven times in mountain bike races. Pidcock won five of those encounters, while Van der Poel won twice. At Nova Mesto in 2021, each rider won one race in the XCO and XCC categories, but the site doesn’t specify which. However, based on previous reports, Pidcock won the XCO race, meaning Van der Poel must have won the XCC, unless there’s an error in the MTB Data records.
It remains to be seen if they will compete against each other on mountain bikes this year, but it’s likely they’ll meet in some events. Since both riders also race on the road where prize money is significantly higher they will probably decide their schedules based on a case-by-case evaluation of each race’s importance. While we won’t predict who will be faster if they meet again, their battles are sure to be exciting.
Their last head-to-head mountain bike race was at the 2023 Olympic test event, where neither performed particularly well Van der Poel finished 28th, and Pidcock placed 36th. However, in 2024, Pidcock bounced back to win his second Olympic gold medal in mountain biking, further solidifying his credentials.
If you’re curious about how your favorite riders compare, check out mtbdata.com for detailed race records.
Be the first to comment