NOS Wielrennen•vandaag, 00:09
Champagne and hamburger for World Cup winner Van der Poel: ‘One of the best moments’
The champagne not only flowed abundantly at the Dutch cycling team in Glasgow on Sunday. The cork also came off the bottle in Joop Zoetemelk’s living room. The road cycling world champion of 1985 finally saw a Dutchman win the World Championship on the road with Mathieu van der Poel.
The 76-year-old Zoetemelk does not mind at all that he can no longer call himself the last Dutch world champion. He speaks of a “nice cycling afternoon” which he watched “very enthusiastically”. “It couldn’t be better.”
He describes in the radio program Langs de Lijn that he was sitting on the couch and that the tension increased considerably when the final of the ride arrived. A shudder went through the room when Van der Poel fell in the final phase. “I was shocked, but luckily it ended well.”
Joop Zoetemelk about Van der Poel’s World Cup win
Zoetemelk thinks he had to wait “too long” for a successor. “We are a cycling country, so 38 years is a bit long.” The former cyclist, who won the Tour de France in 1980, says Van der Poel to find a “very nice successor”.
The superlatives for the new world champion come through today’s match. Zoetemelk speaks of a final with “one attack after another” and thinks it’s great that his compatriot towers above big names Wout van Aert (number two) and Tadej Pogacar (number three) on the podium.
“38 years old and he’s got it!” Joop Zoetemelk drives to world title in 1985
Mathieu’s father Adrie has already been congratulated by Zoetemelk. “I have sent his father a message. Nothing yet to Mathieu. I do not have his number. But I will congratulate him.”
The former cyclist thinks that Mathieu can handle the success well. He knows what it is, because he has also won (world) titles in other disciplines.
The season will also continue for him, says Zoetemelk, who hopes that his compatriot will enjoy his title as much as he did himself. “Holidays, you are asked for everything. I enjoyed cycling with the rainbow jersey and being in the spotlight. I have great memories of it.”
ANPJoep Zoetemelk with Utrecht mayor Sharon Dijksma last year
Zoetemelk, who lives in France, says that Van der Poel’s victory has not only caused a stir in the Netherlands. “I watched French television and they responded very well there. He is also very popular in France.”
And that is because Van der Poel is the grandson of French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor, who died in 2019. “Of course, the French no longer had any riders who raced for the title, so they became Mathieu. Still a bit of a half Frenchman. I experienced that myself when I went to live in France.”
In the house of Zoetemelk, the champagne is not yet empty, no matter how good it tasted. “It’s just the two of us and I’m drinking alone, so there will be another sip tomorrow.”
Van der Poel falls, stands up and is the first Dutch road world champion in 38 years
2023-08-06 22:09:03
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