"The euphoria I had was unparalleled" - Dutch national coach recalls glorious day in Glasgow

Earlier last year in Glasgow, came the crowning moment of Mathieu van der Poel's road racing career as he claimed the men's elite World Championship title.

The joy felt by Dutch national coach, Koos Moerenhout was as if he had won the race himself. "Winning a World Championship is what you work for every year. That often doesn't happen, it's just that simple. If you succeed in that, that is very nice," he recalls in conversation with Wielerflits. "The euphoria I had was unparalleled. But Dylan van Baarle's World Championship silver and Tom Dumoulin's Olympic silver in 2021 and Olav Kooij's bronze at the European Championships this year were also fantastic. Beautiful things are happening in that regard. Although this season was really a great year!”

Although almost everything went perfect for van der Poel on the day, a late crash did give the Dutch a momentary scare. “I had just joined the Wout van Aert group . At that moment you hear it on the race radio and to the public. I immediately wondered: how far ahead is he?" He recollects. "Soon the message came that he was back on the bike, with a twenty second lead. Then you were constantly out of sight on that course. That gave me confidence. Only then the delayed images came in, of that broken shoe and the scrapes. That is quite exciting. But it soon became clear that his lead was growing again.”

“My contract with the union expires at the end of 2024," Moerenhout reveals in conclusion. "It is too early to say that I will still be national coach after 2024. But I am not unwilling to do so, no. I think I'm in a good place and I enjoy what I do. And that what I do also matters. Once that's no longer the case, it's time to go. Will a possible Olympic title change my view next summer? Then ask me that again, haha!”