"I can always keep myself busy here" - Adrie van der Poel on his new role helping to support son Mathieu during cross season

With the cyclocross season in full flow, there has been little doubt about who has been the standout rider of the field. World champion Mathieu van der Poel has been dominant, taking victory each an every time he's started the campaign so far, much to the delight of his father Adrie.

Adrie van der Poel was formerly seen more often with Mathieu's brother David. Although with the elder brother's retirement, van der Poel senior now has more time to focus on supporting his World Championship son. “At the beginning of the season I only came to the cross once, that was in Essen. There I went to watch a number of youth riders. For the rest, I will only look at the crosses where David or Mathieu ride. Now that David has retired, there are fewer of them. So I came to the cyclo-cross races less than usual," he tells Wielerflits.

“What is my exact role now that I am no longer in the equipment post for David? I take over a piece to Mathieu. But the older mechanics who always went with Mathieu will also stay," he explains of his new role within his son's support team.

A benefit of this new role is that Adrie doesn't have to be in the equipment station for the entirety of the race. "If I don't have to be in the equipment station, I just stay by the bus or just look around. I can always keep myself busy here," he concludes. “Not too much has changed for me. We now come to the cross by car, which is different. Everything else has generally become a bit easier for me. In previous years we used to have to come to the cross to install everything, but that is no longer necessary. That is now all arranged by the team. That's great!"