"I definitely tried to follow Mathieu, but he was a bit too strong" - Tibor del Grosso best of the rest at Hulst Worlds
Cyclocross
Tibor del Grosso couldn't have realistically aimed for more, but he has gotten a lot out of the Hulst World Championships. After winning his first elite national title, the 22-year old now, in his first elite World Championships, rode to a second place where he was only beaten by Mathieu van der Poel.
It is the culmination of a breakthrough winter for the Alpecin - Premier Tech rider, who has beaten Wout van Aert at the Superprestige Heusden-Zolder as his most memorable win; and finished second in four World Cup races (one against Thibau Nys, and three against van der Poel). With his teammate and compatriot's presence, del Grosso couldn't aim for a win, but was happy to see van der Poel take the win and beat the world title record.
Del Grosso will have time to achieve the same in the future, something that looks increasingly more likely. But in the meantime, he led out the Hulst World Championships in the first lap, and then managed to race into the silver medal in his home country.
"It was really special to ride on Sunday, with all this spectators, and to finish second at the highest level behind a phenomenon," del Grosso said in a post-race interview to Wielerflits. "I was happy that the three of us got away right away. That made the race a bit easier. I definitely tried to follow Mathieu, but he was a bit too strong."
Better than Nys
Whilst Thibau Nys has for many years taken the pressure from the Belgian media and due to his connection with Sven Nys, del Grosso has been able to develop fully in the shadow of van der Poel at Alpecin. That development has already turned him into a proven winner, and at this point in time, he has finished second to van der Poel on three consecutive occasions.
In the technical Dutch course, in which all riders would inevitably make small mistakes throughout the races, del Grosso had the best of Nys and in the final lap made the difference. "That was pretty intense. We were evenly matched," he argued.
"We each had sections where we were a bit better. I might have had a slight advantage when it started raining at the end, because I think I had a bit more tread on my tires. I was happy he made a mistake on the last lap".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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