Zeger Schaeken • Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 7:45 AM
Interview Mathieu van der Poel impressed last Saturday when he returned to the field. The world champion left nothing to chance in Herentals and immediately blasted away in the opening round. It looked impressive, but how did a number of insiders of the cyclo-cross world experience Van der Poel’s level? CyclingFlits figured it out.
We start with Lars van der Haar, who could see up close how Van der Poel attacked. “I didn’t expect that first round from him. You’re from Spain and you haven’t ridden a cross yet. To be able to achieve such a high level in a first round is just so impressive. I really didn’t expect that and perhaps I have never seen him like that before. That was really of a high level.”
“Everyone was in their frame at that moment. I had hoped that he still had to find the right feeling in the first two rounds. That would have been better for me too, because now I couldn’t get a meter closer and Eli (Iserbyt, ed.) could take the bonus seconds (for the classification of the X20 Trophy, ed.). This was exactly what I didn’t want,” laughs Van der Haar.
The Dutch champion was impressed by Van der Poel’s opening round, but also emphasizes that his victory is no surprise. “We know how good Mathieu is and we know he will win. That’s just how it is.” Eric Braes, team leader of Van der Haar at Baloise Trek Lions, joins his rider. “I especially noticed that Mathieu immediately started forcing and set a very high pace. That was really impressive.”
Van der Poel eventually won with a lead of almost half a minute – photo: Cor Vos
‘This is his playground’
“Eli wanted to follow behind Mathieu at first, but he soon realized that was not possible. As a result, the pace quickly dropped in the chasing group, making Mathieu’s lead immediately large. That may have given a distorted picture. The rest quickly accepted the dominance, which is perhaps logical.”
Just like Van der Haar, Braes is not surprised by Van der Poel’s level. “He is simply a phenomenon in all areas. So no, I’m not really surprised when it comes to Mathieu. I think the fact that he went so fast that first round has to do with his personality. This is what he likes to do, the cross is a playground for him. He also has the quality to be there straight away, something that almost all other riders do not have.”
Vanthourenhout: “Nothing new”
Finally, we ask what Sven Vanthourenhout, the national coach of the Belgians, thought of Van der Poel’s level. “I only saw the first round, but that was actually more than enough. For me, that was in line with what most of the peloton had expected. I personally wasn’t shocked by his level. You just felt that he was going to start at a high level.”
“So I’m not surprised. In the meantime, this isn’t new anymore, is it? We know how good Mathieu is, it is already the umpteenth year that he has done this. Every year there is an insinuation somewhere that ‘the rest will lean closer to Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock’, but that has been completely swept off the table in Herentals. This happens every year and so nothing is new.”
2023-12-19 06:45:00
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