Søren Kragh Andersen in awe of 'superstar' teammate: "I like Mathieu van der Poel's racing style"

Having left Team DSM for Alpecin-Deceuninck over the winter, Soren Kragh Andersen is now racing alongside one of the sports superstars in Mathieu van der Poel and he couldn't be more excited to begin racing.

"I needed a new challenge. In 2020 I had my best year yet, but since then my level at Team DSM has stagnated," the 28-year-old Dane told WielerFlits. "Alpecin-Deceuninck 's plan was super interesting. Their approach, no GC riders and a team on the rise, appealed to me. I needed a new environment, new people around me and new knowledge.”

One of the reasons Alpecin-Deceuninck was such an attractive proposition for the former two-time Tour de France stage winner was the chance the race alongside the recently crowned cyclocross world champion, Mathieu van der Poel.

"He is the superstar," Kragh Andersen says. "When I'm ready, I'll get my chance. But I'm also ready to help Mathieu if I see he can win. I am really a team player. But of course I also have my own ambitions. I think it suits me very well that Mathieu races the way he does. So that role just below him suits me very well.”

In terms of his own, personal ambitions for the season, the Dane wants to progress to the next level and improve his tally of 8 career wins. "I think my chances of a big result are better in the Ardennes classics. I'm going with that. That's why I'm glad we're going for that too. I am thinking mainly of the Amstel, I believe that I can win that," he says. "Winning a semi-classic would already make my season pretty good. But I believe that I can win a monument, that is my big dream.”