Mathieu van der Poel Celebrates Record Win like Cristiano Ronaldo: "Right Moment To Do It"
Mathieu van der Poel stands alone as the record holder. The Dutchman won the Cyclo-cross World Championship in Hulst on Sunday and now has eight world titles, one more than Eric De Vlaeminck. "This is very special," MVDP said in the post-race flash interview.
"I said it last week: when I started cycling, my dream was to become world champion once as a professional. That I now hold the most titles of all time is incredible," said Van der Poel, who smiled while explaining his distinctive celebration gesture. "In Spain, we do a lot of sprint celebrations. To celebrate a victory, we do many different kinds of gestures, but Ronaldo’s 'Siuuu' gesture (footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, ed.) is used most often. I thought this was the right moment to do it."
Van der Poel won in Hulst by a wide margin, but was this the best race of his season? "That’s always hard to say. I think I felt a bit better last weekend, a bit stronger. But this course was also completely different. I tried to handle my bike and tires as well as possible to make sure that a mechanical issue wouldn’t ruin it. So yes... I did what I had to do and I’m very happy it turned out well."
Cyclo-cross future
Now that his eighth world title is in the bag, the question arises: will Van der Poel continue cyclo-cross in the future? He has not yet made a decision about that, he told our camera. "I still have time. It’s a long way until the next cyclo-cross season starts," said the 31-year-old rider, who described the world title as 'very beautiful.' "It’s always special, but this one is unique because it makes me the sole record holder, and that on home soil as well."
