There continues to be no stopping Mathieu van der Poel this winter as the dual-discipline world champion continues to dominante his cyclocross rivals.
"It was a super fun race. The crowd was great, so it was a good night," reflects the Dutchman in his post-race interview. Unlike in recent races, van der Poel didn't attack front the start, instead waiting to mid race to make his move. According to the man himself, this was all part of the masterplan.
"That's too strict for the others, because it was quite windy. It is difficult to drive here alone, so it was a conscious decision to wait and see," he explains, before referring to his brutal attack in the sand that fired him away from his rivals. "That was the most difficult point, that's where you can make the difference."
"These are tough days, so I'm glad it was 55 minutes," concludes van der Poel with a smile. Competing the podium in Diegem were Tom Pidcock and Eli Iserbyt.
🤯 Holy smokes 💥
— Atlanta Rouleur Collection (@AtlantaRouleur) December 28, 2023
Mathieu van der Poel attacking HARD into one of the most technically challenging sections of this course ⚡️
The style, the souplesse, the POWER 🥊#MVDP #Diegem
🎥: @flobikes pic.twitter.com/PizMgWsqzk