Mathieu van der Poel's new win shows class and reserve

Mathieu van der Poel came, saw, and conquered at the Koksijde World Cup. The world champion broke away from his rivals after just over 25 minutes of racing and then soloed seemingly effortlessly to a new victory.

How does the man in the rainbow jersey look back on his race? "I definitely enjoyed it. It's one of my favorite races on the cyclocross calendar, and now even more so," Van der Poel said afterwards in an interview with Sporza. "These are days to cherish."

While Van der Poel broke away very early in the Antwerp cross, this time it took a bit longer for the Dutchman’s decisive attack. "I don't have to ride every cross flat out from start to finish. Especially with the sequence of races in mind."

Van der Poel deliberately rode with some reserves in Koksijde. "You also have to think about what's still to come. On a course like today, it’s a bit easier to make the difference, especially if you have some good sandy sections."

"Like I said beforehand, today (unlike Antwerp, ed.) was also different sand passages. I'm quite satisfied with my sand technique," Van der Poel concludes, who will be back in action on Monday at the Sport Vlaanderen venue in Hofstade. "I've never raced there before, so I'm curious," he finishes.