"That scoring is so rotten" - Lars van der Haar criticises UCI World Cup points system

A podium finish at the latest round of UCI World Cup action in Hulst on Saturday afternoon saw Lars van der Haar close the gap in the standings of the overall rankings to leader Eli Iserbyt. Despite this, the Dutchman isn't expecting to overhaul the deficit.

“Iserbyt has basically won that ranking for a long time. The chance that we will win that classification is very, very small," says van der Haar in his post-race interview, even though Iserbyt was a DNF on a dramatic day in Hulst. "We just made it a great competition and tried to take the podium places, for ourselves and each other.”

Van der Haar finished third on the day behind winner Mathieu van der Poel and runner-up Joris Nieuwenhuis. Despite the positive performance, the Dutch national champion remains realistic about his hopes in the overall rankings.

"He is ahead by about 70 points. In principle, you collect a maximum of twenty or twenty-five points at a time. It won't happen anytime soon. That scoring is so rotten," he laments. "Eli has had a very good start to the season and he is still riding great, so I expect few differences.”