"I've had it with all the booing" - Mathieu van der Poel explains disgusting spit at spectator during Hulst World Cup
Cyclocross
Mathieu van der Poel took a dominant victory in Hulst on Saturday afternoon, continuing his dominant form in cyclocross this winter. Post-race though, that wasn't the talking point.
During the last lap, van der Poel was so far ahead he was able to pretty much do what he wanted around the final few corners. With this luxury, the world champion decided to pull to the side of the course, by the fan barriers and crazily spit at a section of spectators.
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Understandably, this action was a hot-topic in his post-race interview. “Already during the warm-up they were booing. Then it's better to stay at home. I've had it with all the booing,” he explains, although he doesn't elaborate exactly what was said. “It's better to ask them yourself. I'm not going to repeat that. These were not things that belong in sport, booing is not appropriate for anyone. After a while it was enough, also for me."
"But it's never easy to win. It is always an hour full throttle in a cross,” continues van der Poel, keen to shift focus back to his dominant victory ahead of Joris Nieuwenhuis and Lars van der Haar. “I was in the wheel, but I kept making too many mistakes, because I didn't see the right lines. I went forward to ride at my own pace. It is a succession of tough parts. That climbing part in particular hurts my legs.”
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- that sounds right. at Roubaix, any of the strong riders who has better luck than the other elites can win. not the case at flanders, where THE strongest almost always wins. (which means rvv will be either tadej or mathieu.)OCexile25-03-2025
- Yes try riding same distances as themen as courses as hard. No point wanting same money if you are not putting the miles and same work in.paultryan200225-03-2025
- Come on, shorter stages, easier stages, less stages, easier one day races, shorter one day races, far lesser competition, slower speed, lack of bike handling skills and strategy … you can demand equality where it is due.. but that is rather not the case here. The men’s race was 20x more entertaining, so receiving 10x less is rather fair.
UltimateOpportunist25-03-2025 - this is officially the stupidest article i’ve ever read about cycling, or maybe anything else. i want those 2 minutes of my life back…OCexile25-03-2025
- I agree, this article is silly. Pogacar won that TdF because he was stronger than Roglic on the time trial not because he was unknown. Each rider has their own strengths and ride to those. Each of the classics and monuments have their own unique features that the riders must strategize.GB25-03-2025
- Yes, I think he still has a lot to say in road cycling. In the CX races he showed a very good gear but... the problem was essentially his NERVOUSNESS then he took bad decisions in finding the best strategies and paths. He needs confidence (calm down) and maybe a very good preparation gave him that.
maria2024202425-03-2025 - I don't believe so sadly, much as pulling another rider into that group I think Tadej and MVDP have raised the game so far they are essentially untouchable. The spoils of this season will be split between them, I believe Tadej will take RVV, LBL and Lombardia, MVDP MSR and Roubaix. I'm not even sure Remco will be at their level when he comes back. Tadej and MVDP are just a step above everyone elseslappers6625-03-2025
- Tadej and MVDP bring that panache back to cycling that we missed right through the Armstrong years, the Sky years and to an extent the couple of Visma tour wins. Whole team blocking a race, no attacking, no excitement till the leaders jumped away inslappers6625-03-2025
- Glad to know he's confident now, even though he didn't win; it's true, he never complains but in past interviews he often expressed his insecurity and bewilderment when he hadn't won the gold on the track or a time trial.maria2024202425-03-2025
- Would be so cool. Might not be possible regularly but a few, even Jungels showed glimpses of his past form after going through mental deserts.Jumpyjohn25-03-2025