Mud, Grit & Glory: Del Grosso thanks Alpecin-Deceuninck and is soon to be seen in docuseries by his brother Bodi and Britt Knaven

He was the clear pre-race favorite, and he certainly lived up to that expectation. Tibor del Grosso secured the under-23 cyclocross world championship with a significant lead on Saturday, and he made it all look effortless. After the race, the newly crowned world champion appeared in the press room, where he spoke with IDLProCycling.com and others.

"It was definitely not as easy as it looked. It was a tough course, and the conditions made it even more challenging. So, I really did suffer," smiled the rider from the Netherlands. "This means so much to me. I've always dreamed of becoming world champion, and it's cool that I've been able to achieve that here," he managed to keep his emotions in check quite well, about half an hour after his finish.

Del Grosso let his main rival, Belgian Emiel Verstrynge, stay with him for a while but ultimately left him behind convincingly. "I know you should never give your competition a free ride, so I took a moment to recover. Other than that, I think it was a fair race," he said about the course in Tábor, which he had just successfully conquered.

Del Grosso's cyclocross exploits come together in documentary series

Tibor in Tábor, it sounds like a fairy tale. There are resemblances, at least, with his first name coming from a movie - "which one, I don't know" - and currently a documentary series is being made about him. His brother Bodi del Grosso and Bodi's girlfriend Britt Knaven are the ones behind it, and they were also present in Tábor to follow Tibor.

The success story is already there, but what's the background for this series? "My brother discovered videography, along with his girlfriend. They followed me a bit this season, and they are creating a small series out of it. It will be on YouTube next week," said Del Grosso, who, with his World Championship victory, has undoubtedly provided the best possible promotion for 'Mud, Grit & Glory' - watch the trailer below or via this link.

The Del Grosso surname doesn't originate directly from the Netherlands, as one of the press members pointed out. "Many people ask about its origin. It's Italian but goes back several generations. So, it's not like, for example, my grandfather is Italian. It's from my mother's side, so I don't know how it survived through so many generations. With a capital D, that's often misspelled," the Dutchman smiled.

Del Grosso wants to keep proving himself, on the road as well as in cyclo-cross

With his victory in Tábor, he achieved a kind of revenge for Hoogerheide, where he was the runner-up after Thibau Nys. "Last year, someone else was stronger, so I'm really happy that I managed to win now. I'm very pleased with that," said Del Grosso, attributing part of his success to his move to Alpecin-Deceuninck. "I made a significant step in the support team, and it's reflected in the level I reached this year. Everything is a bit more professional, bigger, and with a bit more budget, so I think I've improved in every aspect."

Del Grosso is also a good road cyclist, so the inevitable question in many cases is: what does your future look like? "I hope to continue developing, both in cyclo-cross and on the road. I'll see where I end up; I'm in a good place to develop. Where does my heart lie? In both. There are plenty of examples of guys who combine them very well, so I hope to do the same. At the highest level," said the equally talented and camera-friendly youngster.