Mathieu van der Poel has seemed in recent days to increasingly hint at the end of his cyclocross career, but Bart Wellens does not expect the Dutchman to actually retire from cyclocross. "I think he still really loves doing it," the two-time elite world champion said Tuesday in the studio of Telenet Play Sports.
Van der Poel is once again dominating in cyclocross this winter as usual, but the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider might be in his final cross season. In an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws, the world champion indicated that he has been thinking about his cyclocross retirement for some time.
"I have always said that I would find it very special to stop in my home country, with the record," said MVDP after his win at the Duinencross in Koksijde. "Other than that, there wouldn’t really be much left to achieve for me in cyclocross. We have already talked about it internally a few times. It is something I’m thinking about, yes."
Less cyclocross?
For cyclocross fans, it would be a blow, but Wellens doesn’t think it will come to that. "Now he has made it more concrete, but in recent years there was always speculation like: okay, he has won everything. But I think he still loves it too much. I still see him enjoying himself on his cyclocross bike. The way he rides through the sand... You can just see he really enjoys it."
"He may cross less in the future," Wellens continues. "We always speculate: how much are our top riders going to race cyclocross? But Mathieu is currently doing everything. He races quite a lot of cyclocross compared to a Wout van Aert. So I don't see him stopping anytime soon. I certainly hope not, because I really enjoy watching him ride."
