The 25-year-old competes across three disciplines -  road, cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing. 

He had planned to drop the final discipline after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which have now been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In an interview with Dutch cycling website Wielerflits, van der Poel said he was going to keep competing in mountain biking until 2024, however.

"I have decided to keep doing the unique combination until the Games in Paris," he said.

"As it stands, I think I will stay doing mountain bike until the Olympic Games of 2024. 

"Then I have three extra years to become world champion in that discipline. 

"For my part, I definitely like it, because I really love that sport."

Van der Poel began racing in mountain bike events in 2017, going on to contest a full World Cup season in 2018, finishing second in the series overall and third at that year's World Championships in Lenzerheide.

He earned his third cyclo-cross world title this year, having triumphed in 2015 and 2019 beforehand, and also boasts three European titles from 2017 to 2019. 

Van der Poel enjoyed a successful 2019 in road racing, topping the podium at the Tour of Britain, Amstel Gold Race, Dwars door Vlaanderen and Brabantse Pijl.

Paris 2024 will be the eighth time mountain bike racing has appeared on the Olympic programme, having featured at Atlanta 1996.