"He is just phenomenal" - Adam Blythe on Mathieu van der Poel

Mathieu van der Poel made history on Sunday in Glasgow, ending the long wait for a new Dutch World Championship winner. Understandably, the Dutchman has been receiving praise from all corners including Eurosport's Adam Blythe.

“He played it perfectly tactically,” said the ex-pro on Eurosport's post-race show. “He just kept riding away and that was it. Nothing anybody could do about it. He was in another league. His ability to really hurt himself more than others; he just seems to be able to go into the red, then into the dark, then into the darkness and still come out and go again. He is just phenomenal.”

The Dutchman rode away from his rivals with one brutal attack leaving the likes of Tadej Pogacar, Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen in the dust. It's beating his old nemesis van Aert though, that Blythe thinks will make the victory even sweeter.

“They have grown up racing together and have been arch nemeses since so young, so watching him ride away and being able to do nothing about it will hurt van Aert and might change what he does next year," Blythe analyses. “I think with the Tour de France this year not being as successful as last year, Van Aert might decide next year to be more one-day Wout. He might get more success from that."

“I think with Van Aert one of his main focuses at the Tour de France is being a team-mate and that really changes the way he trains and performs as a one day rider," the Brit concludes. “He has the big engine to be able to sit at that high number of watts, but to be able to do what Van der Poel does, he can do it but not as well.”