"I dream of becoming as good as Mathieu one day" - Teammate Tibor del Grosso hopes to match van der Poel in future years

Alpecin-Deceuninck has a whole group of top cyclocross riders, of course led by reigning World Champion Mathieu van der Poel. However in the under-23 ranks they also have the rainbow jersey in Tibor del Grosso who hopes to follow the footsteps of his teammate.

"Yes, I am sometimes compared to Mathieu. I am the same type of rider as him and in cycling they really like to compare," Del Grosso said in the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast. "He's not just a good rider, but a generational talent. Of course I dream of becoming as good as Mathieu one day, but it's just seriously underestimated how good a guy like that is and how much work he can handle."

Del Grosso has been steadily evolving and currently he is one of the most gifted riders in the field. He won the World Championships and World Cup at under-23 level last winter, and so far this season he's won 3 out of 3 under-23 races he took part in. He raced with the Elites at the Namur World Cup and finished an impressive sixth place. His teammate and also under-23 rider Jente Michels is another start for the Belgian team, the reigning European under-23 Champion.

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Del Grosso in the meantime is spreading his wings on the road as well, where he is the Dutch under-23 national champion and also finished in the Top10 of both European and World Championships. He officially starts racing for the Elite Alpecin-Deceuninck team in 2025 and holds a contract until 2027, where he is teaming up with Mathieu van der Poel.

"I went cycling with Mathieu this spring and we did a seven-hour ride. With considerable wattages. And then after six and a half hours he says he can't feel his legs," he says of the multi-disciplinary legend. Del Grosso is the same kind of rider and hopes to follow the path of his teammate.

"I would love to ride some semi-classics, or maybe even participate in Paris-Roubaix. But if it doesn't happen, it will happen a year later. There's no rush for me," he concludes. At 21 years of age he definitely already has the talent to do this, however there is no pressure for him to become a leader for the road team yet.

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