Virtually unbeatable Van der Poel does not aim for 'clean sheet': "Cyclo-cross World Championships remain the most important'

Mathieu van der Poel put himself in the spotlight on Saturday with a victory in the Hulst World Cup, but also by spitting at some spectators. In a conversation with IDLProCycling.com and other media outlets, the world champion explained his remarkable action, while also discussing his seventh consecutive victory of the season.

Indeed: seven out of seven. A 100% score. 'MVDP' seems unbeatable this cyclo-cross season. He reels in every victory with great conviction. "So far, Gavere was the toughest, especially because of the challenging course. However, winning is never easy, as the cyclo-cross always involves going full throttle for a full hour," said the Alpecin-Deceuninck superstar. "Here in Hulst, it's definitely a tough race. It's a succession of difficult sections. That climbing section in particular is really painful on the legs."

Van der Poel found himself among the other cyclo-cross riders in the first rounds, but soon grew tired of it. He had to swerve several times due to mistakes made by the riders in front of him. "I made too many mistakes in the wheel, because I couldn't see the good lines. I then moved up a bit so I could ride at my own pace."

Van der Poel was more than fed up with booing

As a junior, Van der Poel once managed to win all the cyclo-crosses (24 in total) in which he participated. This season, he is only competing in fourteen, but isn't a similar score secretly a goal for the phenomenon? "Not necessarily. Things were different back then, as I was a full-time cyclo-cross rider at the time. The main focus this year is simply on the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Tabór."

The conversation circles back to the spitting incident once again. "It was nothing, just a bunch of hecklers. I'm done with it now. It was continuous, even during the warm-up. Then you might as well stay home. I'm tired of the booing. Booing doesn't belong in sports, for anyone," says Van der Poel, who wouldn't repeat the ugliness of the terms that were yelled at him due to their offensiveness. "It's better not to pay too much attention to it," concludes the man from Kapellen.