After another top spot, Tibor Del Grosso believes his achievements are being 'hyped'; he skips the Ardennes spring classics

Del Grosso switched from the Alpecin-Deceuninck development team to the WorldTour team last winter. After dominating the U23 competition in the cyclo-cross winter, becoming Dutch champion in the elite category and world champion in the U23 category, he immediately started on the road in Paris-Nice. A few days later, we saw him racing on the cobbles in the Grand Prix de Denain before continuing to Catalonia.

In Spain, Del Grosso recorded his first major podium spots. He finished third on day 1 and even second on day 5. With the experience of two WorldTour races in his legs, the top talent headed to Dwars door Vlaanderen, where he promptly finished sixth. "It wasn't bad," he said with modesty. If Alpecin-Deceuninck hadn't chased after Del Grosso in the Ronde van Limburg two weeks later, he could have won. In the Brabantse Pijl, he finished tenth.

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The plan is for Del Grosso to ride the Tour of Turkey at the end of April and skip the Ardennes spring classics. He understands that some people might find that strange, but: "It sometimes amazes me how well things are going, but I think the media sometimes hyped. I've had a few good races, and suddenly, I'm one of the favorites. Everything is indeed going well, and it's also a compliment. I've taken another step forward. It's as simple as that."

Is it that easy that Del Grosso maybe could have kept up with Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel in the Brabantse Pijl with a little more luck? "I wasn't quite able to keep up with Wout and Remco. After that, I was in a good position, but everything came together again. That was a shame. I thought I could still compete for the podium in the sprint, but I got a little boxed in."

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Analyst Marc Sergeant had already been full of praise on Friday. "Del Grosso is yet another cyclo-cross rider that the Roodhooft brothers have brought from the field to the road. Another top talent, that's for sure. He narrowly missed out on winning a stage in the Tour of Catalonia. Alpecin-Deceuninck is unlocking great talent. And once again, many of these riders come from the cyclo-cross and excel on the road," wrote the Belgian.

Del Grosso prefers to slow things down a bit. "For the rest of the season, I'm not necessarily focusing on specific races because I want good periods. I'm a patient person. I'm still young, and I'm certainly in no hurry."