Mathieu van der Poel expressed great joy after securing his tenth consecutive victory in the Cyclocross season. For the world champion, the Zonhoven World Cup marked the end of an extended period of challenges in the discipline.
“I am extremely pleased with the performance in this first part of the season but also looking forward to refining my form in Spain (location of the Alpecin-Deceuninck Training Camp),” he stated after the race.
“This didn’t happen very often in school,” Van der Poel laughed, waiting for over twenty minutes before launching the attack. “I wanted to see how the race unfolded. Joris Nieuwenhuis also had a pretty strong pace in the first lap, and I was in a good position. It was very cold for the first time (around 0°C) this winter, so it took me a bit to get into my rhythm.”
Without spending too much energy
“I didn’t warm up much after the attack, but it’s a tough race, and I didn’t want to waste too much energy,” emphasizes the Alpecin-Deceuninck leader. “I’m always happy to win, and I felt really good. But I’m also happy to be able to train even more.”
The fact that he now has ten victories in ten races tells him enough. “The story was different this year compared to last year,” he refers to his battle with Wout van Aert, where he lost more than once.
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