"Was it boring to ride alone for an hour? Certainly not" - Mathieu van der Poel back on tracks with soaring Herentals triumph
Cyclocross
Mathieu van der Poel flew through the Herentals race, marking quite a strong comeback. He was unmatched this afternoon and showed off the form he built throughout the past few weeks in training.
“I quickly found myself alone. I immediately had a nice lead. After that it was quite a long hour alone. I felt quite strong and knew that the 'Ski Mountain' was the most difficult point of the circuit. And I felt good, so I immediately got into the right rhythm," he tells Wielerflits in a post-race interview. "I quickly chose my own pace. Was it boring to ride alone for an hour? Certainly not, I enjoyed it." It was almost like a training ride for the World Champion who was in the race lead since the first moments and never let it go. Within a few minutes of racing he dropped the competition and was never to be seen again.
"There was only one moment of inattention, when I hit the ground. But other than that it was nice to be back," he says. A small crash didn't hamper his chances of taking the win. "I like to do that: ride at my own pace, choose my own lines. So it was fun. I have trained for a long time to get back there and it is nice to get confirmation right away.”
Alpecin-Deceuninck manager Christoph Roodhoft had hinted on how strong the Dutchman looked in a recent training camp and van der Poel confirmed that this was not just an impression. “...I suffer hard enough during the training. So I just do my thing in the races. It will certainly not be like this every race, so we will probably have some exciting races in the Christmas period, I think.” Whilst Tom Pidcock came second today, he was hardly any competition for van der Poel, and Wout van Aert's form also did not look as sharp as the World Champion.
Perhaps too good form, six weeks before Tabor? “That's always difficult to say. I feel very good and have a good base, but the intensity can certainly be improved. Only by the World Championships should I be at 200 percent, as I did last year.”
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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It was a good day today. In Herentals, home of our team, @mathieuvdpoel crowned his return to cyclocross with a solid win. But Niels Vandeputte, @GVermeersch and @Quintenhermans also finished in the top ten. @ToonVandebosch fell just outside. Great job, guys! #alpecindeceuninck
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