"You shouldn't be impressed or intimidated" - Florian Vermeersch on tactics when racing Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert

Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel are two of the biggest stars in cycling today and more often than not, when they compete, one of them ends up winning the race. What is this like for their fellow competitors though? Florian Vermeersch recently gave an explanation.

"You shouldn't be impressed or intimidated, so to speak. First and foremost, you have to try to ride your own race and get the best possible result out of it," the Lotto Dstny star details in conversation with In de Leiderstrui. "That's why you shouldn't focus too much on the competition but mainly on yourself."

Van der Poel especially has been in top form recently, winning all ten of the cyclocross races he has competed in over this winter. "I've had the opportunity to experience a few times in recent years what it's like to be there in the ultimate final," Vermeersch recalls, referring to the Super 8 Classic in which van der Poel was victorious last year. 

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"In such races, and certainly in that Super 8 Classic, for example, I sometimes feel that there is more in it for me," Vermeersch concludes optimistically. "But it did teach me not to worry too much about Van der Poel or another world champion in certain races. Our sports director Nikolas Maes helps me with that too."