"I assume he can match last year's level on the road" - Adrie on Mathieu van der Poel

Nothing but impressive, but Mathieu van der Poel may still be able to improve, according to his father Adrie. Additionally, he may be able to match his level on the road into the upcoming season.

“I think it speaks for itself. We knew that Mathieu was really good conditionally. Maybe not 100% yet, but those last few percent are the hardest thing to get. In addition, he is also technically at a fairly high level," Adrie van der Poel told In de Leiderstrui. "That also contributed to his winning those seven crosses. How important is it that he no longer has back problems? I don't hear him talking about it, while that was constantly the case last year. But those are actually things we leave alone. And we don't really want to talk about it either. Look, as a rider you always feel something. It's just fine at the moment.”

At the time everything is running smoothly. The World Champion has not been matched in any of the cyclocross races he has raced until today this winter, and nothing points towards it stopping. However is the Dutchman already in his best form? Adrie van der Poel thinks he can still improve.

“A few percent, I think so," he continues. "It is also still under construction. Maybe he is a little further along in the build-up. This also ensures that he has a good foundation and can continue to build on it. There are still some possibilities there, especially because the training work for the road season is completely different.”

With no illnesses or injuries hampering him, van der Poel senior is also positive that the World Champion can follow suit on his 2023 season on the road. “I assume he can match last year's level on the road. But, of course, nothing should go wrong."

"Last year the coin often fell on its side. But on the other hand, you also enforce that yourself. I think he just took a lot of confidence from last year. That is important and I think he now wants to build on that.”