“Michael Vanthourenhout is in top condition” - But will Mathieu van der Poel put an end to Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal’s amazing season?

With three of the ten rounds of the Cyclocross World Cup already completed, Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal are in superb form. Michael Vanthourenhout, their standout rider, currently leads the standings ahead of Toon Aerts.

The team have been the standout at each race so far, with Vanthourenhout and his teammates sweeping victory after victory, and Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal has not lost a single race since Urban Cross back in November. However, the team faces a looming challenge over the busy Christmas period, as 6-time world champion Mathieu van der Poel makes his long-awaited return to the cyclocross field.

Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal’s team manager, Jurgen Mettepenningen, shared his thoughts on Vanthourenhout’s performances and the team’s current form with Wielerflits.

“Michael is in top condition,” says Mettepenningen. “He doesn’t just win, he also makes the race. From start to finish he’s pulling at the front. He always keeps on pounding, which gave us a nice duel and the audience became the big winner. It was a fantastic cross on the cutting edge, in the end the ball is rolling well for us now and that’s just great.

“It was more difficult at the beginning of the season, due to circumstances and bad luck. That first big victory took a long time to come. But now he is finally in top condition, with good morale on top of that. Then he is capable of a lot. The courses that are more difficult are also to the advantage of the slightly older riders with a bigger engine.”

Vanthourenhout’s rise to the top of the World Cup standings has not been without its challenges. The team manager credits the Belgian rider’s development over the past two seasons, both physically and mentally.

“Michael didn’t win that much before. That also has to do with a lack of belief in himself. That only comes from winning, then you get that belief and confidence that you can do it. Michael is mentally very strong in his head. You need that at this level,” he continues.

“You have to be able to handle it not only physically, but also mentally. Michael has grown enormously in two years, in his own way. And in his own head he is now that winner.”

With Vanthourenhout leading the standings and in the form of his career, the World Cup remains the team’s central focus. But can a certain duo put a stop to the team’s winning start to the season?

“There is now one big goal for Vanthourenhout and that is the World Cup. We are now looking forward to Hulst, that will be the most important day of the weekend for us and there he can dot the i's and cross the t's. That it might be our last chance before Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert participate? We are really not thinking about that yet. We have already achieved that five out of five ourselves, that is not nothing.”