Mathieu van der Poel took a historic win within the elite males’s street race on the Glasgow World Championships, surging away from the strongest riders within the WorldTour after which stretching the hole regardless of a heavy crash within the closing kilometres of the technical central metropolis circuit.
The drive of the preliminary solo assault from his group of 4 race favourites shocked even Van der Poel. “I’ve to be trustworthy, I knew I had an assault left however I used to be additionally shocked at my first assault that I did within the group was a was one,” the Dutch rider mentioned following the race.
The transfer, which Van der Poel made with 22km of the race remaining, proved to be the decisive second of the race. “Once you look again after an assault like this and also you see no one, it actually provides confidence,” he mentioned. “After which you understand you are the strongest within the group and that is a extremely good feeling.”
The race had by then whittled all the way down to an more and more acquainted trio of Van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) and Wout van Aert (Belgium), accompanied by Mads Pedersen (Denmark).
Nonetheless, even with the ability of his assault from that group of 4, Van der Poel’s race was almost derailed when he slid out on one of many technical metropolis centre corners with 17km remaining. Not solely was his clothes visibly torn, however he had additionally badly broken each his proper biking shoe and cleat.
“Abruptly I used to be on the bottom and the shoe was damaged and it made it laborious to provide energy on the pedals, particularly as a result of the cleat was additionally damaged, so I did not have loads of contact anymore. However I feel possibly some adrenaline took over as properly,” mentioned Van der Poel. “I am actually comfortable that, and fortunate as properly, that my bike wasn’t damaged and I might simply proceed.”
Describing his potential to return to the race undisturbed by the numerous fall, Van der Poel mentioned, “it is simply intuition.”
“I assume you simply need to go as quick as attainable on the bike,” he continued. “I used to be fortunate I might discover my rhythm. I did not actually belief any corners anymore.
“My legs had been nonetheless fairly robust after which once I noticed the time hole going off once more that gave me once more a confidence enhance. The primary time after they confirmed the one-minute mark, I knew that if I used to be simply going simple to the end line by way of the corners that I might make it and it was an unimaginable feeling.”
A World Championships triple?
Following Van der Poel’s arrest forward of the 2022 World Championship Highway Race in Wollongong, he described the race as virtually a “revenge for final 12 months”.
“It was already in my thoughts for a 12 months,” he mentioned. “With the Tour, I used to be simply not good as a result of I turned sick within the second week, and I wasn’t feeling myself there, however possibly it helped. I could not actually push my physique.”
Van der Poel is already a world champion in cyclocross, and his participation within the Mountain Bike World Championship Cross-Nation Olympic race on twelfth August provides him the prospect of scoring a triple-World title – a feat by no means achieved by an elite male rider.
Nonetheless, Van der Poel was fast to downplay the importance of the mountain bike race in his total targets this 12 months.
Requested if he held ambitions of total victory, he mentioned, “If I am trustworthy, probably not, the aim is to qualify for Paris,” he mentioned. “After they confirmed the course [for Paris] I feel it is one thing that fits me as properly. So possibly I’ve to decide, or attempt to do each.”
Regardless of his earlier type on the mountain bike Van der Poel stays pessimistic given his time away from racing, claiming his final stint of mountain bike coaching was in Livigno earlier than the Tour de France in 2022. “I do not know. I simply need to race on Saturday first. It has been a extremely very long time since I have been on the mountain bike and I simply tried to get pleasure from myself this coming weekend.”
Van der Poel additionally confirmed that he can be taking a second to savour his achievement on the street earlier than then.
“For certain we’ll be a pleasant celebration and I am going to make an exception as properly,” he mentioned. “Usually. I do not celebration till subsequent week, however I’ve some days to get better and it is a particular second so I need to have fun it.”
Whereas Van der Poel downplayed the importance of his victory being the primary Dutch win on the elite males’s street race since Joop Zoetemelk in 1985, he spoke passionately concerning the significance of his race win to the reminiscence of his grandfather Raymond Poulidor.
“I am certain he would have been actually proud.”
