Adri van der Poel

Adri van der Poel (born 17 June 1959) is a retired Dutch cyclist. Van der Poel was a professional from 1981 to 2000. His biggest wins included six classics, two stages of the Tour de France and the World Cyclo-Cross Championships in 1996. He also obtained the second place and silver medal in the World Road Championships in 1983 behind Greg LeMond and five second places in the World Cyclo-Cross championships. The Grand Prix Adrie van der Poel is named after him.

Career
Van der Poel began his career on the road and during his first season as a professional he obtained second place in Paris–Nice behind Stephen Roche and second place in the La Flèche Wallonne. In the Tour de France, he won two stages; his stage win in 1988 set the record for fastest stage (since then only surpassed by three cyclists). Van der Poel also competed in cyclo-cross during the winter and obtained great results – that he turned full-time to cyclo-cross in the latter part of his career where he won the World Championships in 1996 and the World Cup and Superprestige classifications in 1997. Van der Poel retired after the 2000 Cyclo-Cross World Championships where he finished fourth and which was won by his teammate Richard Groenendaal.

In 1983 he tested positive for strychnine. He said that his father-in-law had served a pigeon pie for Sunday lunch, and only when he tested positive did he realise that the pigeons had been doped with strychnine.

Family
Van der Poel is the son-in-law of the famous French cyclist Raymond Poulidor. His sons David and Mathieu are also cyclists. Mathieu van der Poel became cyclo-cross world champion himself in the junior race in 2012 (Koksijde) and 2013 (Louisville, Kentucky) and then matching his father's title in 2015 (Tábor, Czech Republic), 2019, 2020 and 2021, and added wins in the prestigious Tour of Flanders in 2020, Strade Bianche in 2021 and Milan-Sanremo in 2023. Van der Poel's brother Jacques was also a professional cyclist from 1986 to 1992.

Cyclo-cross

 * 1983–1984
 * Superprestige
 * 1st Zürich-Waid


 * 1984–1985
 * 2nd Silver medal blank.svg UCI World Championships
 * Superprestige
 * 3rd Gavere


 * 1986–1987
 * 1st MaillotHolanda.svg National Championships


 * 1987–1988
 * 2nd Silver medal blank.svg UCI World Championships


 * 1988–1989
 * 1st MaillotHolanda.svg National Championships
 * 2nd Silver medal blank.svg UCI World Championships
 * Superprestige
 * 2nd Wetzikon


 * 1989–1990
 * 1st MaillotHolanda.svg National Championships
 * 2nd Silver medal blank.svg UCI World Championships


 * 1990–1991
 * 1st MaillotHolanda.svg National Championships
 * Superprestige
 * 1st Gavere
 * 2nd Gieten
 * 2nd Silver medal blank.svg UCI World Championships


 * 1991–1992
 * 1st MaillotHolanda.svg National Championships
 * Superprestige
 * 2nd Gavere
 * 3rd Bronze medal blank.svg UCI World Championships


 * 1992–1993
 * Superprestige
 * 1st Valkenswaard
 * 3rd Roma


 * 1993–1994
 * 1st MaillotHolanda.svg National Championships
 * UCI World Cup
 * 2nd Loenhout
 * 3rd Igorre
 * Superprestige
 * 2nd Overijse


 * 1994–1995
 * 3rd Overall Superprestige
 * 1st Overijse
 * 1st Diegem
 * 2nd Harnes
 * 3rd Wetzikon


 * 1995–1996
 * 1st Jersey rainbow.svg UCI World Championships
 * UCI World Cup
 * 1st Pontchâteau
 * 3rd Overall Superprestige
 * 1st Sint Michielsgestel
 * 2nd Wetzikon
 * 3rd Diegem
 * 3rd Harnes
 * 1st Surhuisterveen
 * 1st Vossem


 * 1996–1997
 * 1st Jersey white.svg Overall UCI World Cup
 * 1st Praha
 * 1st Koksijde
 * 1st Overall Superprestige
 * 1st Gieten
 * 1st Milan
 * 1st Sint Michielsgestel
 * 1st Harnes
 * 1st Woerden
 * 1st Kalmthout
 * 1st Nommay
 * 1st Essen
 * 1st Loenhout
 * 1st Haegendorf


 * 1997–1998
 * 2nd Overall Superprestige
 * 1st Diegem
 * 1st Wetzikon
 * 2nd Gieten
 * 2nd Overijse
 * 2nd Harnes
 * 3rd Silvelle
 * 3rd Milano
 * 2nd Overall UCI World Cup
 * 2nd Eschenbach
 * 2nd Praha
 * 2nd Koksijde
 * 2nd Heerlen
 * 3rd Pontchâteau
 * 1st Harderwijk
 * 1st Niel
 * 1st Rijkevorsel
 * 1st Zeddam
 * 1st Loenhout
 * 1st Surhuisterveen


 * 1998–1999
 * 1st MaillotHolanda.svg National Championships
 * UCI World Cup
 * 1st Nommay
 * 3rd Koksijde
 * 3rd Overall Superprestige
 * 1st Harnes
 * 2nd Wetzikon
 * 3rd Silvelle
 * 3rd Diegem
 * 1st Pijnacker
 * 1st Montevrain
 * 3rd Bronze medal blank.svg UCI World Championships


 * 1999–2000
 * 1st Harderwijk
 * 1st Lutterbach
 * Gazet van Antwerpen
 * 2nd Essen
 * 3rd Overall Superprestige
 * 2nd Overijse
 * 2nd Diegem
 * 3rd Ruddervoorde
 * 3rd Surhuisterveen
 * 3rd Heerlen
 * 2nd National Championships
 * UCI World Cup
 * 3rd Leudelange
 * 3rd Kalmthout

Road

 * 1980
 * 7th Road race, Olympic Games


 * 1981
 * 1st Stage 1 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
 * 2nd Overall Paris–Nice
 * 1st Stage 3
 * 2nd La Flèche Wallonne


 * 1982
 * 1st Züri-Metzgete
 * 1st Stage 4 Paris–Nice


 * 1983
 * 1st Prologue Tour de Luxembourg
 * 2nd Silver medal blank.svg Road race, UCI World Championships
 * 3rd Giro di Lombardia


 * 1984
 * 4th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 1st Points classification
 * 1st Stage 4


 * 1985
 * 1st Brabantse Pijl
 * 1st Clásica de San Sebastián
 * 1st Paris–Brussels
 * 1st Scheldeprijs
 * Tour de Luxembourg
 * 1st Stages 1 & 4
 * 2nd Overall Nissan Classic
 * 1st Stage 5
 * 2nd Giro di Lombardia
 * 3rd Overall Three Days of De Panne


 * 1986
 * 1st Tour of Flanders
 * 1st Nationale Sluitingsprijs
 * 2nd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 3rd Paris–Roubaix
 * 3rd Züri-Metzgete
 * 6th Overall Nissan Classic


 * 1987
 * 1st MaillotHolanda.svg Road race, National Championships
 * 1st Paris–Tours
 * 1st Grand Prix des Fourmies
 * 1st Grand Prix of Aargau Canton
 * 1st Stage 9 Tour de France
 * Tour de Suisse
 * 1st Stage 1 & 2


 * 1988
 * 1st Jersey orange.svg Overall Étoile de Bessèges
 * 1st Stage 2
 * 1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
 * 1st Stage 16 Tour de France
 * 3rd Tour of Flanders
 * 3rd Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise


 * 1989
 * 1st Stage 6 Paris–Nice
 * 1st Stage 5 Tour Méditerranéen
 * 2nd Brabantse Pijl
 * 2nd E3 Prijs Vlaanderen


 * 1990
 * 1st Amstel Gold Race
 * 1st Grand Prix of Aargau Canton
 * 2nd Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise


 * 1991
 * 1st Circuito de Getxo
 * 1st Stage 4 Ronde van Nederland


 * 1992
 * 2nd Overall Tour of Britain


 * 1994
 * 1st Profronde van Heerlen


 * 1999
 * 1st Grote Prijs Marcel Kint