New year, but still the same cyclo-cross winner: in Baal, Mathieu van der Poel once again demonstrated that he is the King of the Cyclo-cross Winter in the 2023/2024 season. The Dutchman is still convinced that there is room for a few percentages of improvement leading up to his big goal: the World Championships in Tábor.
Cyclo-cross fans might have hoped for a duel between Van der Poel and Wout van Aert, but that idea was shelved after just one round. Van der Poel accelerated and Van Aert had to pass. "I enjoyed it immensely. It's been a long time since I've raced here and it's a race that suits me well. It was also just a fun day. This is really an interval circuit and it was also technical with those deep tracks, which I really enjoy," he told IDLProCycling.com after the race.
When asked if it wasn't also inhumanly tough, Van der Poel had only one response. "Yes, it's really enjoyable. The most fun thing as a cyclo-cross rider, I think, are those deep tracks. It's difficult and that immediately makes the race the most fair and the most fun." After twenty minutes, the battle was actually already over. "Wout took the lead right away and really pushed hard, took off strongly. There was immediately a strong pace and he tried to put pressure on me. I took over and I think he made a mistake. That allowed for a nice gap and I then rode flawlessly for the rest of the race."
The fact that the gap with Van Aert was so large caused some mild surprise for the Belgian afterwards. "Wout also doesn’t push as hard as he might have done before, so he is more quickly satisfied with second place," says Van der Poel, who nevertheless also felt the strain in his legs at the start of the race. "He really put me under pressure. The pace was very fast in the beginning, especially on the running sections, where he really pushed hard. Then I did have to make an effort a few times to stay in his wheel."
In Baal, the race then turned into a solo mission, and according to Van der Poel, that suited this race the best. "In many cyclo-cross races it's like that, but especially in the mud, you can hardly benefit from being in someone's wheel. It's a very nice victory to start the year off with," said the world champion. This win definitely allowed Mathieu to wash away the bitter aftertaste of the aftermath of the World Cup in Hulst. Around the Sven Nys Cycling Center, he was, as usual, positive about the massive turnout of fans. "The audience was good, but it's always a few individuals who spoil it. It didn't necessarily provide extra motivation, and I didn't feel like I had to prove myself more than usual here."
He mainly wants to prove himself in Tábor, where this winter's World Championships will be held. Heading into that cyclo-cross, he is thinking about improving his form. "There's still room for improvement. I feel very strong, but I do think I can still improve a bit leading up to the World Championships. However, the same goes for the rest of the guys. You have to actually ride the race before you can win it, and I certainly don't see that as a done deal yet," concludes the Dutchman.