Mathieu van der Poel on winning attack at GP Sven Nys: "Van Aert immediately set a strong pace. I took over, after which I immediately had a nice gap"

Mathieu van der Poel was too strong for the rest of the competition today in Baal for the GP Sven Nys, however Wout van Aert did put on a fight. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider however had the endurance to maintain a strong pace throughout a tough hour of muddy racing to take the victory.

“It had been a long time since I had suffered here, but it is a nice cross, which suits me well. This is still the most fun as a cyclocross rider, especially here. It is very technical with those deep ruts. It is extremely difficult. I always find that the most honest and fun thing," van der Poel said in a post-race interview.

It was in the mud exactly that he created the winning gap, but judging by the almost two-minute gap that was built throughout the rest of the race, it is difficult to argue that the Belgian rider would have a response to when van der Poel would attack.

“Van Aert immediately set a strong pace. I took over, after which I immediately had a nice gap. I don't know if he made a mistake. After that I rode fairly flawlessly. It was a nice day. Especially in such mud races, there is little point in trying to take advantage of the wheel," he tells. Eight victories out of eight, van der Poel remains undefeated and continuing to give all the signs necessary towards the World Championships.