Even Van der Poel can feel exhausted, but how he travels to Besançon can make a difference: "Oops, has that been leaked already?"

Four out of four: Friday's Azencross in Loenhout was also right up Mathieu van der Poel's alley The Dutch rider from Alpecin-Deceuninck took off after a superb start by his returning rival Wout van Aert and only saw most of his rivals after the finish line, although Laurens Sweeck came very close. Afterward, Van der Poel told his story while shivering to IDLProCycling.com.  

The Dutch rider's legs pumped out a lot of power, but afterward, they shivered mainly from the cold. "And I wasn't the only one. The last cyclo-cross races were okay, but this was the first time I was cold on the bike this winter," said the winner.

So, was that why he took off so quickly? No, said VDP. "Wout set the pace pretty high, and it seemed like a good time to put pressure on myself after that fast start." That the Visma | Lease a Bike man was right on target did not surprise the world champion. "Wout hasn't been sitting still, and he has the talent and class of his own, so I wasn't surprised."

Van der Poel talked about it being a difficult race in Loenhout, which is not far from the border with the Netherlands. "The past few years, it's always been that this course in Loenhout is challenging to stand out. It's actually not a race to ride alone because it's just a challenging course to ride much faster than anyone else."

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Van der Poel saw Sweeck suddenly come back

He seemed to succeed in that from lap one. However, all of a sudden, Laurens Sweeck of Crelan-Corendon returned. "My saddle was also broken then, so I had to change bikes. It's not that I let him come back; it was impressive that he closed that gap. I just kept doing my thing after that, and later, I was able to create another gap."

And so came an end to Van der Poel's fourth cyclo-cross in six days, who said few words about it himself. "The tough race in Gavere also made it harder, but I wasn't the only one who competed there as well. You do feel after four races in such a short period of time that cyclo-cross is hard on your body, but I try to keep treating it well."

The next appointment is Sunday's cyclo-cross in Besançon, France, and Van der Poel will fly there by private jet. Sporza commentator Ruben Van Gucht reported that in the broadcast. "Oops, has that been leaked already?" the Dutch rider laughed. "But it's true. A day of rest, and then we'll get back to it."

Read also

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Van der Poel vs. Van Aert: Experts say we won't get a real duel — "Mathieu won’t waste any time"

Preview Besançon 2024 World Cup | Van der Poel ready to race, but he shouldn't count on the win just yet

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