Ten years after grand entrance, Mathieu van der Poel dominates despite having "experienced quite a lot"

Three out of three. Ten years after his phenomenal debut in cyclo-cross on the same circuit in Antwerp, Mathieu van der Poel once again amazed cycling fans. The Dutchman slipped out of his clip pedal at the start, but by the second round, he was already at the forefront, thanks to his impressive mastery of a number of sand sections. It was no surprise that he faced the press with a big smile after the race.

Let's briefly go back to 2013: an 18-year-old Van der Poel makes a surprise appearance among the pros at the Scheldecross, after winning all but two (!) races in two years as a junior. On December 7 of that year, the 18-year-old Dutchman made his debut among the elite in Antwerp, and what a debut that was. Only Niels Albert, a world-class competitor at the time, managed to outpace him, applauding Van der Poel as he crossed the finish line, ahead of riders like Sven Nys that day. The footage is worth revisiting.

Continue reading below the video.

How different are things in 2023? Around noon, he arrives at the Thonetlaan in Antwerp in his Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, incidentally a different model from the Italian car brand than the one with '1-MVDP-1' as its license plate. His team has already set up their gear. Both young and old are mesmerized by the golden car, but as Mathieu exits the car, it immediately becomes clear that there's absolutely no arrogance involved: Van der Poel calmly takes time for the fans, stepping out of the car in a good mood and taking the time for some photos and autographs.

The Dutchman's excellent mood these days naturally goes hand in hand with the form he's showing on the bike. According to manager Christoph Roodhooft, he's the best version of himself right now. "I've had good seasons before, but it's true: I'm physically in good shape and I'm experiencing little trouble with my back, which might have spoiled my performance a bit in the past seasons. My road season was also very good, so maybe I was able to continue that trend. As a result, it's now possible for me to reach the best version of myself."

Even a mistake at the start of the race did little to affect the course of events: Van der Poel entered the field in 25th place after missing a pedal stroke. "I just jammed into my pedal, so I got squeezed a bit. A couple of other things happened in that first round, so there wasn't much else to do but remain calm. Was it fun? Not really, I prefer to be up front right away," he says with a big smile.

Van der Poel expects rival Van Aert to level up

"I did end up in the chaos, so I experienced quite a bit in that first round. After that, I could move up easily and took my time, eventually taking the lead," said Van der Poel, who seemed to have four-wheel drive through the sand. "But it wasn't easy to move up; it's never easy in those first rounds. I also didn't want to exhaust myself."

A few solo rounds later, he could once again cross the finish line with his hands in the air, for the third time after Herentals and Mol. "But I certainly don't feel invincible. Things can change quickly, so I'm enjoying this moment. It's definitely a possibility for me to lose, and I hope there will be some more muddy races where Wout reaches his best cyclo-cross form. We know what he's capable of, and he's still improving," concluded the star of Alpecin-Deceuninck.

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