“This achievement puts him in the category of the very best" - Michel Wuyts draws comparisons to Merckx and Musseuw in lofty praise for Mathieu van der Poel

Already with a plamares most could only dream of, the latest monumental success in the career of Mathieu van der Poel came Sunday with a dominant performance at Paris-Roubaix. According to Michel Wuyts, the Dutchman must be in the conversation greats such as Eddy Merckx and Johan Museeuw.

“Mathieu van der Poel is not only the most efficient, but also the most streamlined athlete I have ever seen on a bicycle,” Wuyts begins, laying some lofty praise onto the current world champion via HLN. “This achievement puts him in the category of the very best. I think of Merckx, I think of Museeuw, I think of Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara. Riders who achieved unparalleled performances. And now Van der Poel joins that list with a win in E3, a win in the Ronde and a win in Roubaix as world champion. I think many people will run out of adjectives to push this athlete even higher.”

Triumphing in the fastest ever edition of Paris-Roubaix by three minutes from his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate, Jasper Philipsen, van der Poel also took the longest men's solo win in 30 years at the historic French monument. "They rode a perfect race with a fast start. An average after two hours of 52 km/h. Just stand against it. Then they paved the way for Van der Poel with attacks from Vermeersch and an attentive Philipsen," Wuyts says, praising the team performance. "This resulted in a second place and a place of honor for Vermeersch. Then you will emerge as the team of the spring. They win three monuments in a row. That was a long time ago."

Could things get even better though with a van der Poel victory at Liege-Bastogne-Liege? “I think Van der Poel's hunger is only increasing. He can certainly win the Amstel Gold race. Partly due to the fact that the peloton has been severely decapitated after the many falls in recent weeks," Wuyts concludes. "I'm curious to see what that will bring in Liège between a world champion like Van der Poel and an absolute top player like Pogacar. I would like to motivate Van der Poel to make something of it there too.”