"Mathieu is above all a really great teammate" - Tibor del Grosso on racing cyclocross with van der Poel

It is not by chance that Tibor del Grosso is called the 'new van der Poel'. Whilst it's hard to achieve the same palmarès, the Dutchman comes from the same country, same team, is having the same progression onto the road, and seems to have the same technical ability as his teammate. The two are now racing together in the cyclocross season and in Gavere they were both on the podium together for the first time.

"It was a different [and cold] edition of Gavere. It made it quite slippery; I just rode on mud tires," del Grosso said in a post-race interview. He felt his back once again, although it didn't seem to hamper him this time around. "It wasn't great; it's a lot of management. It's working out pretty well. It's also different from last year in the under-23 category, when I was the best and I could set my own limits more."

The race was hard, and marked by Thibau Nys' many attacks that looked to put Mathieu van der Poel in difficulty. It did not work out, and a costly error in the final laps saw a gap open up that wouldn't then be closed again. The battle for third place was wide open with several contenders, but in the end del Grosso got the best off Toon Aerts and Emiel Verstrynge who sprinted behind.

"In a race against Mathieu and Thibau, I'm pushed to my limit more, so that's more taxing. I didn't have the legs today, but if I did, I know it would be suicide to go with those two. It was for third place today," the 22-year old knew. But after beating Wout van Aert in Heusden-Zolder, this comes as further confirmation of his form and talent at the top of the cyclocross field.

The Dutchman only began his cyclocross campaign in Namur, two weekends ago, and will be fresher than most of his competitors. He is looking to have his best form for the nationals - where he is the defending champion - and the world championships - where he will race the elite event, but is the reigning under-23 world champion.

"My peak will be in January, with the National and World Championships. I hope to be at my best there... I didn't ride badly last year either, but this year I'm more focused on winning trophies. Koksijde was already going really well, so I knew I could do it, but I just have to pull it off every time with my legs and back".

"Can we talk about team tactics? No, not really. In cyclocross, it's every man for himself, especially on such a fair race," he adds. However racing under the spotlight of Mathieu van der Poel helps shift the pressure away from him. And the two are good friends, he emphasizes. "Mathieu is above all a really great teammate, and let me emphasize again that the comparison doesn't end there except that we ride in the same team and have the same nationality, haha. There's only one Mathieu".