Adrie van der Poel on the one time he hugged Mathieu recently - "I am super proud, but I never show it"

Mathieu van der Poel is just about one of the most successful cyclists of all times and is one of the figures of the sport currently. He is the reigning World Champion both on the road and in cyclocross and his father Adrie tells a story regarding the two.

In an interview on the Topsportouders podcast, the former Dutch rider and successful ex-pro himself Adrie admits that he has never been too sentimental or expressive with his satisfaction. "I just had a Spartan upbringing. I'm not ashamed of it, but there is room for improvement". He admits that, at least in recent years, he had never hugged Mathieu despite the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider's many successes throughout the years.

But this streak was broken last year in Glasgow when the 29-year old put in a masterful performance to take the world title and the rainbow jersey for the first time. He became World Champion on the road, perhaps the biggest triumph of his career so far.

“I happened to do that last year after the World Championships. That was the very first time," Adrie van der Poel shares. "I am not much of a hugger. I am super proud, but I never show it. I am super happy and then it does not have to be just about winning, but also if he has not fallen or that nothing serious has happened to him. That is already a victory for me.”