Soren Kragh Andersen eager to team up with Mathieu van der Poel over 2023 spring - "Hopefully I will ride some races with him and he will ride to win"
Cycling
Having left Team DSM to join Alpecin-Deceuninck for the upcoming 2023 season, Soren Kragh Andersen has expressed his excitement at getting the opportunity to race on the same team as Mathieu van der Poel.
"He is unique and one of the world's best riders," Andersen says of van der Poel in an interview with Ekstra Bladet. "Van der Poel has something special, a bit like Pogacar, Van Aert and Evenepoel. There are maybe five riders in the world who have that x-factor, and he is one of them. He is something special in the field. When you have won so many cycling races and the Tour of Flanders twice, you are something special."
One of the most loved and most exciting riders in the men's peloton today, Mathieu van der Poel has lit up numerous races in recent years both on the road and in the field of cyclocross and is part of one of cycling's fiercest rivalries with Tom Pidcock and Wout van Aert. For Andersen, the chance to get to ride alongside the Dutchman is a major opportunity. "Hopefully I will ride some races with him and he will ride to win, so I must also be at my best. I'm pretty sure if I ride up to my best, we can help each other."
Ultimately however, the ambitious Dane is planning for individual success this year. "My dream is definitely to ride finals myself. That's what I'm after and hope to be able to do in the big cycling races in the coming years," Andersen says. "I am also quite sure that my new team will teach me new things. That, I think, is quite exciting."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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