Mathieu van der Poel follows in the footsteps of ‘Emperor’ Rik Van Looy: “He is simply the best of the moment” (Herentals)

90-year-old Rik Van Looy cheerfully mentions that he also won Ghent-Wevelgem between the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. So he was clearly the man of the spring in 1962. Just like Mathieu van der Poel is for this spring. “What a performance by Van der Poel, and not just today, but for three weeks in a row,” says the Emperor of Herentals. “If the best wins, there is little to say, and Mathieu is the best rider at the moment.”

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Van Looy did manage to win Paris-Roubaix twice as world champion. Can Van der Poel also follow in his footsteps in that area? “Winning Paris-Roubaix wearing the world champion’s jersey is certainly a very special feeling. Will Mathieu also be able to do that twice? Today’s generation of riders cannot be compared to those of my time. Everything has changed and improved so much, just the care. I don’t think you can make a comparison between the two of us.”

“For me it is certain that Mathieu is the best rider of the moment,” Rik repeats. “I believe he may be able to maintain this pace in the coming weeks, but after that I won’t make any predictions. The course depends on so much, and next year will be a different year.”