Van der Poel crossed the finish line with a curious gesture, which was later explained: “It was the gender reveal for my nephew,” he said with a beaming smile in an interview after the event.
“I had the honor of making the gender announcement,” he said. The gesture involved placing the thumb and index finger together and raising the other three fingers to the sky. “It was a thumbs up if it was a girl, and a thumbs up if it was a boy.” With that, it was revealed that the baby is a girl!
Who is the happy father-to-be?
The nephew in question is 28-year-old Rob van Broekhoven, who had a season at continental level competing with the Destil-Jo Piels team. Without a doubt, such a gesture by Van der Poel made the celebration of the Hoogerheide World Cup victory even more memorable and emotionally charged, by combining the joy of sporting victory with a striking family announcement.