"The most dangerous thing about our sport are the riders themselves" - Mathieu van der Poel on Itzulia Basque Country crash

After yesterday's mass crash at Itzulia Basque Country, a few riders including Pello Bilbao and Quinten Hermans argued that the reason for many crashes are the riders themselves and the risks they take. Mathieu van der Poel agrees with this stance, the World Champion believes the extreme fights for positioning often lead to these accidents.

“I would like to say that I think the most dangerous thing about our sport are the riders themselves. We take the risks. That's the biggest problem," van der Poel said in an interview with Wielerflits. "It's just that everyone wants to be in the front at the same time and that's just not possible. You can certainly make it better, but it will never be completely safe. That's too bad."

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider did not take part in the Basque race and so avoided this disastrous fall, but only a week before he was also absent from Dwars door Vlaanderen where another high-speed crash ended Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven's season, as well as injuring among others Mads Pedersen and Biniam Girmay. Crashes of such level seem to occur more and more often, as teams become more aware of the importance of positioning, which leads to the whole peloton taking it up another notch when it comes to speed and risks in key moments.

“As in every classic, there are dangerous points. In Liège-Bastogne-Liège, for example, the descent before the Redoute is one of the most dangerous descents we have," the Dutchman already warns. "We are still racing on open roads. It's hard to change everything. You can change a certain point, but there will always be falls. Like I said, it's often the riders themselves. And sometimes you just have to be lucky.”

However, on van der Poel's mind currently is Paris-Roubaix, where he will attempt to defend his title. Last year he has won with teammate Jasper Philipsen in second place, and the team will try to replicate the same success. “I think we can create a situation like last year. We both benefit from that. Our strength is that we can both win in different ways. So we are a good duo. But you also have to have a portion of luck. Last year we actually stayed out of trouble for the entire race," he continued.

"We had no flat tires or any breakdowns. That is and remains very important in Roubaix.I don't expect that. Like I said, he already did more than enough in Roubaix last year. It's also not about getting anything back. I did what I did in San Remo because it was the best possible option in that situation. I know he would have done the same. It's not like I do something like that to get something back.”

However the World Champion admits that he does not feel the pressure to win this Sunday, as he has already conquered his main goal for the spring. “For me it was already a special year in the rainbow jersey. I can only be very satisfied with my performance so far. Winning the Tour of Flanders was the main goal. What's to come this year is all a bonus. But of course it would be very cool to win Roubaix again," he concludes.