Mathieu van der Poel has won all five of the ‘cross races he’s done this year, but according to his father, former ‘cross world champion Adrie, it’s a tiring experience.
Working as analyst for PlaySports, he says there’s more to it than just the event.
“It’s the trip there, the recon, the warm-up, the competition, the cool-down, and then the ceremony for the top three. Doping control and everything else—you’re busy all day. Then you get on the bus and head home, only for the whole routine to start again at the next cross. The race itself is actually the least of it: you’re only racing for an hour, but everything surrounding it makes it intense,” his father, who won two stages of the Tour de France, said.
Another day, another win
The world champion’s win streak continued in Sunday’s eighth round of the 2024-2025 UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Besançon, France. It was his fifth straight win in eight days, including a natural hat trick of World Cup rounds.
“The races follow each other quickly. Mathieu feels like he’s already ridden five races in seven days. His first one was great, but after that, the difference showed when he raced against fresher riders. We saw that with Laurens Sweeck in Loenhout, and then the gaps are smaller. It’s up to Mathieu to stay focused,” Adri said. “But it’s an exhausting period. As for the attention, Mathieu grew up with it, so he’s learned how to handle it.”
After the race in France, MvDp said he enjoyed the day–as much as one can in such a tough event. “It’s nice to race here in France. We don’t often go abroad for cyclocross anymore, so it’s great to see so many people here,” van der Poel said, referring to the fact that most of the races are in Belgium or The Netherlands. “The last two laps were even harder. But I kept doing my thing. I stayed out of trouble the whole race. That was my goal.”
Next for him will be New Year’s Day at the GP Sven Nys. “Monday, I have a long training session planned. On Tuesday, I will rest, and then on Wednesday, I’ll get back to work in Baal.”
You can watch the GP Sven Nys on FloBikes.com
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