"I think many riders are jealous of me that I can share the podium with Mathieu and Wout" - Niels Vandeputte happy with third at Exact Cross Mol

Niels Vandeputte raced the Exact Cross Mol aware that the fight for victory would likely be between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, however he was pretty satisfied with being the best of the rest and sharing the podium with the two legends of the sport.

“To be honest, I didn't think it went great today. Normally I like to ride in the sand, but today I couldn't find my way. I made a lot of mistakes. I felt like I was under pressure all the time," Vandeputte said in a post-race interview. The Belgian didn't find his ground early on in the race, however then managed to ride through the field and eventually into third place. “Then I finally rode a good sand passage, but shortly afterwards I got stuck in the sand and my chain fell off. Luckily I was just able to keep a gap. That was certainly not easy, because Quinten [Hermans, ed.] was still gaining momentum.”

Vandeputte, who's been having a very strong season that includes a podium at the Val di Sole World Cup, has hence continued a good run of form and beat teammate Quinten Hermans and Toon Vandebosch into the final spot of the podium. “I think many riders are jealous of me that I can share the podium with Mathieu and Wout. It is something I will cherish.”

“I actually haven't seen much of it," the Belgian said of Mathieu van der Poel's performance, following the race. What he didn't see however was another dominant performance, leaving the rest of the field behind early in the race and taking a dominant win. "When you hear the lap times, it's unbelievable. It is just a playground here for Mathieu and he has shown again that he is perfectly fine.”