Mathieu van der Poel hopes for better form in upcoming races, "otherwise I will always be behind Van Aert"

Mathieu van der Poel has started off his cyclocross season strongly with a win in Hulst, and has also won the Antwerp World Cup. He's done five races so far, two of them finishing 13th and 8th, however it was the second place behind Wout van Aert at the Exact Cross Mol that has struck him the most.

"I don't really have an explanation for it," the Dutchman told Het Nieuwsblad after his defeat in Mol. "We worked hard and maybe I have to refocus a bit towards the next races. Hopefully I can offer a little more resistance, because I cannot be satisfied with this."

Inconsistency isn't a big surprise from the Dutchman, however that was to be expected following a season last year where he only completed one race, relatively bad starting positions, and a recent road training camp. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider showed good form in Mol at the opening of the cyclocross Christmas block, but has finished 50 seconds behind Wout van Aert.

"Hopefully I will have better legs over the Christmas period and I can offer more resistance, otherwise I will always be behind Van Aert. But this has happened to me before. It is now a matter of swallowing it and then on to the next race," he continued. 

The race was packed with sand sections and included very long running stints, where van Aert clearly stood out. Although that will be a problem for the Dutchman, a course like that will be rare.

The two are set to go head-to-head tomorrow in the Gavere World Cup, aswell as several other race in the Christmas block, before an expected battle in the Hoogerheide World Championships in the 5th of February.