Adrie on Mathieu van der Poel: "What is extra special today is the way in which he does it"

Mathieu van der Poel is not a small name and he is quite used to winning in cyclocross. Although it can't be said that it's surprising, his triumph today at the World Cup Zonhoven was impressive. Adrie van der Poel was present today in Belgium for Alpecin-Deceuninck and has talked about his son's triumph afterwords.

“He always manages to win his first cross. What is extra special today is the way in which he does it. You hear here and there that it is physically good, but that does not mean that it is also technically good cross," Adrie told Wielerflits. "I have to say that the weather gods helped a bit. The sand was packed down, which made it a bit easier: we could ride in paths. But on the other hand, you have to say that his lead was enormous.”

Like last year, it was a win on day 1 with a scary comfort. “Matje naturally picks it up quickly. One year it will go a bit better than other years. I have not spoken to him about it yet, but I think I could catch him making few mistakes.”

However despite these mistakes, it has not mattered at the end of the day. Legs wise, the World Championshion was head and shoulders above anyone else in the race and won with a very comfortable gap of 1:30 minutes. “I think the difference is that those guys ride such a tough road program. You can also see it uphill. They can ride one or two teeth bigger and then they just ride away from the rest. That road program plays a part".

"But you also have to look at the past. Matje and Wout have won almost all the races together in the past. It doesn’t just come from somewhere. But if you combine those cross-country capabilities with a road program and – let’s not forget – a team that goes for it completely and gives you the chance to prepare well, then all those little points come together.”

It could be argued that van der Poel's form is already too good, as he is solely looking to build up towards the Cyclocross World Championships in early February. He has nine more races before the big one and five weeks before the race. Adrie hopes the same scenario of last winter does not repeat itself. “Last year the World Championships were good, but not super. You always have to take into account that you have to be super at a World Championship". At the time he still won, but with nowhere near the same gap or comfort he had on other races, similar to today's Zonhoven.

But he is confident that Mathieu knows how to build towards a potential seventh world title: "He knows what he has to do now. Should he do a little bit more, should he continue like this? Four weeks before the World Championships, the final push towards the World Championships begins. Then it is still a waiting game, but you can do everything to be in shape.”