Mathieu van der Poel the best cyclocross rider ever? 'Far from it' says Roger De Vlaeminck
Mathieu van der Poel became world cyclo-cross champion for the eighth time last weekend. The Dutchman is now the sole record holder, as he has one more title than the late Eric De Vlaeminck. However, Roger De Vlaeminck, Eric's older brother, does not consider MVDP the best cyclo-cross rider ever.
“No way, not at all," De Vlaeminck responds in Het Nieuwsblad to the statement that Van der Poel is definitively the best cyclo-cross rider ever after his eighth world title. "Eric was done by the time he was twenty-eight. Worn out from his foolishness. How many more titles could he have won? And may I list: Renato Longo, Rolf Wolfshohl, Albert Van Damme, Peter Frischknecht, Eric, me. Those are different men compared to today."
"Be honest, what do you think about today’s professional riders?" he asks the journalist. "But honestly, okay. Who comes close to Mathieu van der Poel? (...) Of course, he’s good, one of the best. I have enormous respect for him. But can he time trial? Can he win a Grand Tour? I didn’t either, true, but I did win Tirreno-Adriatico."
'I want to race, compete against those men'
Peggy Breunig, Roger’s partner, emphasizes that he indeed has a lot of respect for Van der Poel. “Of course, Van der Poel, Evenepoel, and Pogacar are good riders, but when I watch them, I don’t really enjoy it," responds the 78-year-old ex-pro, who won Tirreno-Adriatico six times, 22 stages in the Giro d’Italia, and all the monuments: Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour of Flanders, twice the Tour of Lombardy, three times Milan-San Remo, and four times Paris-Roubaix.
"I want to race, compete against those men. Beat them like I sometimes could beat Merckx. Merckx, man, he was such a strong guy. You know, sometimes I was scared of him? It hurt just sitting in his wheel. And yet I won 512 races. 512, yeah. Should I list them all?"
