Van der Poel’s teammate on training w/ him: ‘Game day every day’

Silvan Dillier spoke about the the intense training sessions at Alpecin-Deceuninck, noting they surpass anything he’s seen in over a decade of racing.  He also says that being part of the team with the winner of Paris – Roubaix has been incredibly rewarding. “Van der Poel is the best teammate I’ve ever had,” Dillier said to WielerRevue. “He inspires everyone on our team.”

Training with the former road world champion has also been a boon to his progress as a pro. Dillier, who is 34, has had stage wins at races like the Giro d’Italia and Tour of Norway, as well as an overall victory at Route du Sud Cycliste and a second-place finish at Paris-Roubaix. He has now become a super domestique in the latter stages of his career.

I am once again asking you to appreciate Mathieu van Der Poel’s insane skills

“I’m good at maintaining my speed over longer distances. Riding in or controlling the leading group requires the same effort. It has always been my strength, and now we are trying to train even more effectively on that,” he said. “Not for my own results, but for the team’s.”

Dillier said being a support rider for one of the best in the world is a great job. “Controlling a race like the Tour of Flanders is tough, but it’s also something I can enjoy. There was more pleasure than pain in it,” he said. “It also matters that I’m riding for guys who can actually win. It provides a different motivation compared to riding for a leader who might only finish in the top ten under the best circumstances.”

Training with Van der Poel, as you can imagine, is brutally tough. “When I joined the team, it was almost game on every day,” the former Swiss champion said. “We’ve become a bit calmer and train in a more structured way, but from time to time, we can’t hold back, and the training explodes like it can in a race.”

However, there are still days when MvdP needs to let it rip. “Yes, it helps that Mathieu has also changed somewhat, as he is definitely the spark that ignites things when it turns into a race,” he said. “If he feels like playing, it doesn’t matter what’s on the schedule for that day. If he wants to race on a quiet day, then it’s a race.”

And when that happens, other riders are bound to try and match him… for as long as they can. “I’d say I’ve been able to push him to his limits at times, but I’m not going to exhaust myself in one training session when there’s a whole training…