"I can certainly improve towards the World Championship" - Mathieu van der Poel still looking for more despite cyclocross dominance

Mathieu van der Poel was incredibly dominant on Thursday afternoon at the latest round of X2O Trofee action in Koksijde, winning by over a minute from his nearest challenger.

“Koksijde is always one of the difficult races to lead, because when you get to the sand strips, the track is gone,” says van der Poel in his post-race interview. “I rode very well through the sand twice, which immediately left me with a nice gap. Then I chose pace. Pim Ronhaar came close, so I had to keep riding.”

Although Ronhaar kept in contact for a short while, van der Poel eventually powered clear to take a ninth straight win for the winter. Given his dominance, is the dual-discipline world champion at the peak of his powers currently?

“That is very difficult to say, but I can certainly improve towards the World Championship. I trained very well for the cross season, but since Herentals I have actually trained very little. I just did those crosses," he answers. “After Zonhoven, I will go back to Spain to finalize the preparation for the World Championship. How much more can be added? You have to ask the trainer about that. Of course we are under construction. First to the World Championship, then to the spring. In any case, the peak should be in the spring. That is still the most important thing.”