Mathieu van der Poel on Roxanne’s importance: “In Australia she waited all night until I was allowed out of the cell”

Mathieu van der Poel and Roxanne Bertels have been a couple since 2018. The Dutchman met her when he went ice skating in Finland in a Porsche. Bertels went along as a marketer for Porsche. Since then, she has regularly appeared in races to hug her other half after a major victory, such as in the Tour of Flanders, Milan-Sanremo or the World Championship.

“Roxanne is the closest to me,” says ‘MVDP’ in an interview with HUMO. “We live towards my matches together, she knows what I do and don’t do for it. Living with her has definitely made me calmer.”

But Bertels was also there at a lesser moment in Mathieu van der Poel’s career. On the eve of the 2022 Road World Championships in Australia, Van der Poel was held for hours in a police station after an incident with some young people in the hotel. “She was in my room at the time. Roxanne witnessed everything from the front row. She knows what really happened that night, and therefore also how silly those allegations were (Van der Poel was acquitted on appeal, ed.).”

“That whole story made a big impression, Roxanne was very moved. Not surprising: she waited at the police station all night until I was allowed out of the cell. She has a very big heart. If everyone was like Roxanne, we would live in a better world.”

Van der Poel also tells a tragic story in the interview. “Ten years ago, Roxanne lost one of her best friends in a water skiing accident. That left its mark on her. She hates leaving home with a fight: you never know when you will see someone for the last time. That is why we talk about even the smallest things right away. Roxanne is still very sensitive to that after all these years. Her friend lived in Australia: she never got the chance to say goodbye.”