Van der Poel: the last barbarity (full of mud) of a 'legend' of 25 years

The Belgian wins his third World Cyclocross World Championship just before facing a major challenge: the classics and gold on Mountain Bike in Tokyo.

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  See the best images of Van der Poel's triumph.
  

Mathieu Van der Poel (Kapellen, Belgium, 1995) is already a history of cycling. With a huge and interesting asterisk: most of his career is yet to develop. With 25 years recently, this Sunday was a tyrant in the mud of Dübendorf (Switzerland) to conquer his third Cyclocross World Championship (the first won before anyone else, with 19, in 2015), matching recent phenomena like Zdenek Stybar and Wout van Aert. With a cannibal authority, shattering the evidence from dawn itself, rolling the seven laps alone to the tangled circuit, without breaking when the bike had to be thrown over the shoulder, gradually widening the differences until they were scandalous: he surpassed the very young in 1:20 Tom Pidcock (first Briton to reach a medal in the modality) and in 1:45 to the winner of the World Cup, Tom Aerts.

Van der Poel's is a movie story. He is the heir of a unique dynasty, grandson of Raymond Poulidor (deceased last November), his father, Adrie, developed an outstanding career and his brother David is also a professional. His genes go by bicycle and there is no land to resist. Contrary to the trend of the majority and despite the fact that he is already waiting with more and more expectation on the road – he runs for the Alpecin-Phoenix, which uses Canyon bicycles, of which the young man is the main claim-, Mathieu, who looks like his father the colors of Holland and speaks perfectly French as his mother Corinne and his grandfather Pou Pou, he does not intend to leave the mud at the moment, where he not only dominates and has fun.

Winter tests help you expand your potency and polish your technique. Soon the classics will come, where he will also capture looks and more and more vigilance. Last year, in its first really powerful season on the road, it was already imposed on Waregem, in the Brabanzone Arrow and in the Amstel Gold Race. And closed the course sweeping in September in the Tour of Britain.

OBJECTIVE: OLYMPIC GAMES

And their results were also brilliant in Mountain bike, the third leg of his versatility, where he faced the king Nino Schurter. There he will look in Tokyo for an unprecedented deed, hardly comparable in other sports. Achieve medal both in MTB as on the road Although you will have to seriously assess whether to take part in the two competitions.His declared number one objective is the Cross Country, although proven his boldness…

Alberto Accountant compares Van der Poel with Messi. And the truth is that it is accompanied by genius and some romanticism about the bicycle. His explosion in the last World Road was anthological, a bird like those before, so scarce in professionalism thanks to the watt meters, heart rate monitors and total effort control. Far from criticism when I was a favorite in the rain of Harrogate and was in the good getaway, most fans applauded the broken image of the young diamond, who in a gesture of honesty decided not to leave despite the physical blowout.

Van der Poel forms next to Remco Evenepoel and Egan Bernal the trident that excites world cycling. Young people who dominate as it was not remembered, although the first two are more aimed at the classics and the Colombian to the big laps, winner of a Tour. And without forgetting other pearls like Tadeg Pogacar or Wout van Aert.

Yesterday Poulidor's grandson wrote another page in his early legend. «This victory is very special. It was one of my big goals for this season. I think it was one of the toughest tests I've run, especially the last laps »he admitted. But there was also a Spanish protagonist in the lands where cyclocross is religion (there were seven Belgians in the top 10). Felipe Orts He was the best national, with a meritorious 14th place after a breakdown. «I have left quite well, but in the first corner someone has had to give me the back, the chain has come out and the cable of the change has been torn off. I have passed the first round of the last. Knowing that the circuit was so hard I set my pace and that's how I went in the end, ”said the Alicante.