World Cup fever hits cyclocross, Mathieu van der Poel admits to "arrange my schedule around the games"

The World Cup is one of the most important sports events in the world and it is currently taking over the spotlight this November. After the cyclocross World Cup race in Hulst, some of the main headliners of the race have been asked regarding the ongoing competition.

Sporza has asked Eli Iserbyt, Mathieu van der Poel, Michael Vanthourenhout and Tom Pidcock abount the competition. 'How hard is the World Championship for cyclo-cross riders?' the Belgian news outlet asked. "It was hard on me, I watched Argentina against Mexico and it was worth it. It lives more than I expected," Iserbyt responded. As for Mathieu van der Poel, he admitted to be quite into the action: "You have to ask the crossers that, hey! It's hard for me, I always like to follow it. I've only missed two games, I think. I'm trying to arrange my schedule around the games."

Michael Vanthourenhout and Tom Pidcock have not been as tightly following the matches, however the European Champion says that "I will certainly follow it. I am also always well informed about the Belgian league. It is a more important day when the Belgians play." As for Tom Pidcock, who abandoned the race some minutes earlier, he answered: "I've followed it a bit. I'm not really a football fanatic, but at the World Cup I always follow it."

The riders had mixed reactions on the early morning cross in Hulst, but overall there were no general complaints. The Dutch and Belgian authorities combined the schedule so that sports fans would be able to follow the race in Hulst, and then watch the Belgium - Morocco match right afterwards, in which the European nation was defeated. World Cup racing in Cyclocross will resume next week in Antwerp, Belgium.