Vandeputte trained by Adrie van der Poel and now teammate of Mathieu: "He doesn't like warming up"

Niels Vandeputte was a guest on the latest Live Slow Ride Fast episode, the podcast of Laurens ten Dam and Stefan Bolt. The Belgian talked about all sorts of things, including his teammate Mathieu van der Poel. Both riders race for Alpecin-Deceuninck, and Vandeputte shared a wonderful anecdote about the Dutch champion!

The 24-year-old Niels Vandeputte is enjoying a strong cyclo-cross season so far. He won the World Cup in Hulst, and the X2O Trophy in Hamme and has also compiled a series of nice finishes. Officially, he is also listed as a development rider on the road team, but Vandeputte is a true cyclo-cross rider. This year, however, he also plans to participate in a few gravel races. He will mainly do road races in preparation for other goals.

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Vandeputte was trained for years by Adrie van der Poel

The passionate cyclo-cross rider is now a teammate of Mathieu van der Poel. But his relationship with the Van der Poel family goes back much further. In his youth, he was already trained by Adrie van der Poel. "From my time in the youth categories, our team training sessions were led by Adrie. We trained in the forest in Kapellen every week," Vandeputte says.

Bolt laughingly wonders what those training sessions had been like. "They were good," Vandeputte responds immediately. "Tough when it needed to be tough and relaxed when required. With Adrie, I learned the basics, from the technique of riding through sand to how to organize training and races. Eventually, he has been my trainer from the youth categories to the juniors."

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Van der Poel does not warm up before a cyclo-cross race

Mathieu does not warm up before a cyclo-cross race

Vandeputte shares a glimpse into the team dynamics at Alpecin-Deceuninck: " In cyclo-cross, almost every rider has his own camper or a camper belonging to the team. The big bus from Alpecin-Deceuninck, the same bus used in the summer, is available for us. We often sit together with three, four, or five riders."

Mathieu van der Poel is no longer on the bus with them this year, but that was different last year. "With him on the bus last year, we would start changing clothes an hour before the race and then go outside to warm up on the rollers. Meanwhile, Mathieu was still relaxing while watching the women's race or chatting with Christoph Roodhooft," Vandeputte laughed.

"After the twenty-minute warm-up, I returned to the bus all sweaty. Mathieu then sat there, still relaxed in his outfit. Then we changed clothes, dried our undershirt and cyclo-cross kit, and got off the bus. Only then did Mathieu join us to get off the bus and also to the start. He doesn't like to warm up before a cyclo-cross race."

Vandeputte tried the VDP approach as an experiment, but it was unsuccessful. "In Loenhout, with one of the longest starting sections of the year, I tried it without warming up. I didn't like it. Being so cold at the start and then having to sprint full out straight away wasn't for me."

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