Tibor Del Grosso shares his choices for this cyclo-cross winter and what it's like to win in New York

Victory among the U23s in Herentals and fifth among the big men in Namur: Tibor Del Grosso did not miss the start of his cyclo-cross winter. The Dutch rider from Alpecin-Deceuninck rode only his first cyclo-cross race on Saturday in the rainbow jersey he won in Tábor, after which he visited IDLProCycling.com for a chat.

Last year, world champion Mathieu van der Poel showed up for the first time in Herentals. This time, it was up to U23 world champion Tibor Del Grosso to start in the place that houses the Service Course of Alpecin-Deceuninck. He didn't last long in the U23 category there: after barely half a lap, the gap was already closed.

So, it's a good start to the cyclo-cross winter for Del Grosso. "It went well, though. Cyclo-cross is never easy, and I felt a little stiff in my back, but I have nothing to complain about. I quickly created a gap to pick my pace, but it was still a lot of hard work," said the easygoing boy from the northern Netherlands, who enjoyed riding in the world champion's jersey. "It's remarkable in that rainbow jersey anyway. Everyone knows that jersey, which draws a lot of attention, so that was awesome."

Del Grosso confirmed Sunday's result with a fifth place at the challenging Tour of Namur in the World Cup among elites. You could say he is gradually outgrowing the U23 category, but this season's approach is conscious. When you ask him about his goals, he splits them into two. "The World Cup is always the biggest race, and I hope to make a step up among the elites. I had a lot of questions before the season about whether I would still ride in the U23 category, but if things went well, I would be elite for another 15 years. So I still have plenty of time for that."

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Del Grosso: "Still want to wear that jersey a few times"

"Maybe I will only become world champion once and still want to wear that jersey a few times. The great thing is that it's easy to combine: I ride half in the U23 and half in the elite," said Del Grosso, who prepared for his cyclo-cross winter in Spain and also made a great vlog of what a day at training camp looks like. "I've had a much better road season than last year, so hopefully that translates into the cyclo-cross. I did train a lot on the road," said the rider, who will ride for the Alpecin-Deceuninck WorldTour team next year.

Last season, Del Grosso finished in the top ten in races such as Paris-Roubaix, the European and World Championships U23, and won the Dutch championship and... the first edition of the GP New York! What did that look like? "That was a very cool experience, and even more awesome to win... They organized it at a Gran Fondo, just outside Manhattan. The idea was bold, and traffic controllers were at every intersection, but we still saw oncoming cars on the course. We had to stand on the George Washington Bridge one hour beforehand, at six in the morning in the cold. Everyone completely froze, haha! But in the end, because of that early start, we still had time to get into New York on that day," Del Grosso laughed.

Video: Del Grosso gives insight into day at training camp with Alpecin-Deceuninck

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