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Quick Facts
Biography
Adri van der Poel (born 17 June 1959 in Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands) is a retired Dutch cyclist. Van der Poel was a professional from 1981 to 2000. His biggest wins included 6 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 Cylo-Cross championships. The Grand Prix Adri van der Poel is named after him.
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).
Van der Poel's brother Jacques was also a professional cyclist from 1986 to 1992.
Major results
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Adri_van_der_Poel.jpg/220px-Adri_van_der_Poel.jpg)
- 1980
- 7th Olympic Games, Road race
- 1981
- 2nd, La Flèche Wallonne
- Paris–Nice
- 2nd Overall, 1st Stage 3
- 1st, Stage 1, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 1982
- 1st, Züri-Metzgete
- 1st, Stage 4, Paris–Nice
- 1983
- 1st, Prologue, Tour de Luxembourg
- 2nd, World Cycling Championship
- 3rd, Giro di Lombardia
- 1984
- Tirreno–Adriatico
- 4th Overall, 1st Stage 4 and Points Classification
- 1985
- 1st, Paris–Brussels
- 1st, Clásica de San Sebastián
- 1st, Brabantse Pijl
- 1st, Stage 7 Nissan Classic
- 2nd, Giro di Lombardia
- 2nd, World Cyclo-cross Championships
- Tour de Luxembourg
- 1st, Stage 1 and 4
- 1986
6th Tour of Ireland
- 1st, Tour of Flanders
- 1st, Nationale Sluitingsprijs
- 2nd, Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 3rd, Paris–Roubaix
- 3rd, Züri-Metzgete
- 1987
National Cyclo-cross Championships
Dutch National Road Race Championship
- 1st, Grand Prix des Fourmies
- 1st, Grand Prix of Aargau Canton
- Tour de France
- 1st, Stage 9
- Tour de Suisse
- 1st, Stage 1 and 2
- 1st, Paris-Tours
- 1988
- 1st, Stage 16, Tour de France
- 1st, Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- Étoile de Bessèges
- 1st Overall and Stage 2
- 2nd, World Cyclo-cross Championships
- 3rd, Overall, Tour of Flanders
- 3rd, Overall, Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise
- 1989
National Cyclo-cross Championships
- 1st, Stage 6, Paris–Nice
- 1st, Stage 5, Tour Méditerranéen
- 2nd, World Cyclo-cross Championships
- 2nd, Brabantse Pijl
- 2nd, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
- 1990
National Cyclo-cross Championships
- 1st, Amstel Gold Race
- 1st, Grand Prix of Aargau Canton
- 2nd, World Cyclo-cross Championships
- 2nd, Overall, Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise
- 1991
National Cyclo-cross Championships
- 1st, Circuito de Getxo
- 1st, Stage 4, Ronde van Nederland
- 2nd, World Cyclo-cross Championships
- 1992
National Cyclo-cross Championships
- 2nd, Overall, Tour of Great Britain
- 3rd, World Cyclo-cross Championships
- 1994–95
National Cyclo-cross Championships
- 1st Profronde van Heerlen
- 1995–96
- World Cyclo-cross Championships
- 1st, Surhuisterveen, Sint Michielsgestel, Pontchateau & Vossem.
- 1996–97
- 1st World Cup
- 1st Superprestige
- 1st Prague, Woerden, Kalmthout, Gieten, Nommay, Milan, Essen, Koksijde, Loenhout, Sint Michielsgestel, Harnes & Haegendorf
- 1997–98
- 1st Harderwijk, Niel, Rijkevorsel, Diegem, Zeddam, Loenhout, Wetzikon, Chateau La Croix Laroque & Surhuisterveen
- 1998–99
National Cyclo-cross Championships
- 1st Veldrit Pijnacker, Grand Prix Nommay, Montevrain & Harnes
- 1999–2000
- 1st Lutterbach & Harderwijk