Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) said that he was taking ‘no chances’ and had prepared for ‘every scenario’ on his way to winning a record-breaking eighth elite men’s title at the Cyclo-cross World Championships.
The 31-year-old was the firm favourite to win the title, gaining one more than previous record holder, Belgian legend Erik De Vlaeminck.
However, the Hulst course provided a host of challenges with heavy crashes on the steep banks of the fortress, impacting several of the races beforehand. With an eighth world title up for grabs, Van der Poel rode a perfect race and avoided bunny hopping the planks or taking any risks.
“I was prepared for any scenario. I made a decision before the race [not to jump the planks – Ed.],” said Van der Poel afterwards.
“I jumped in the recon, but I felt I was just as quick getting off the bike at that part. I just decided for myself not to take any risks.
“It’s a World Championships, so I tried to be as cautious as possible. Especially today, there were quite some tricky descents. I really tried to avoid taking any risks. Maybe if it was another race, I would just jump the barriers, for example.”
Youngster and fellow Alpecin-Premier Tech rider Tibor Del Grosso joined Van der Poel in the early stages, along with Belgian opponent Thibau Nys.
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However, Van der Poel proved too strong for his opponents, breaking clear on a decisive steep banking as Nys made a mistake under pressure and Del Grosso was unable to follow.
“It was nice to have a good start, and Tibor did a good first part of the race,” Van der Poel said. “I just went to the front and rode a pace that I was comfortable with. I put pressure on the guys, and I soon had a gap that I could defend.”
Van der Poel has previously hinted that after winning an eighth world title, he would consider pulling out of cyclo-cross in the winter.
He’s now equal in the history books with six other riders on three Tour of Flanders wins. He has also won three versions of Paris-Roubaix – one fewer than Tom Boonen and Roger De Vlaeminck.
The Dutch star is now considering ‘skipping one winter’ of cyclo-cross in a bid to set more history.
“Maybe it’s not a bad idea to skip one winter because to be here it’s the first peak of my season always, not only physically, but also mentally,” said Van der Poel.
“This is a day when I want to be in top shape, 90% is not enough or would not be enough for me to be at the start line here.
“That’s why I’ve started to think about different approaches to the road season. You’re always thinking about two things: trying to be the best possible shape at these World Championships and also the road season is not so far away at this point.
“It worked for me in the past, but you always have to think about improvement and doing better than last year.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander (left) was part of the ceremonies at UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hulst to present a special prize to elite men’s winner Mathieu van der Poel, the Dutch cyclo-cross star now holding the record for eight world titles (Image credit: Getty Images)
“I’m getting closer to the end than I was to the beginning of my career. It’s something I think about. I still have some goals left, but I also know I will not be able to tick off all of them,” he added.
“In the back of your mind, you’re thinking about Flanders and Roubaix in my case. Those are the races I could write history as well. I’ve still got a couple of years so I’ll do everything I can to make it work.
“If I know I won’t do cyclo-cross, I will also do a different road programme. I will then race longer on the road and start earlier on the road. I also found some peace in the relaxing moments in Spain. I think I can do it without cyclo-cross.”
Van der Poel received royal acclaim following his victory, as the King of the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander, was on hand to congratulate him.
“It’s nice, of course. It was a really big event today and it’s really cool that he was here,” said Van der Poel.
“He said that he was proud of the Dutchies, me and Tibor.”
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