Mathieu van der Poel is back in cyclocross: the undisputed cyclocross king of recent years is hitting the mud again today in Namur. Expectations around the Dutchman are sky-high, but what does MVDP himself expect from his first cyclocross race in a long time?
"It's been a while since I was here," Van der Poel told the gathered media a few hours before the men's race start. "It's always a fun race and I've already ridden some great races here. It’s definitely not the easiest race to come back to, but we’ll see how it goes."
Why is Van der Poel returning to the field now, and not a week later in Antwerp? "Normally I would start again next week, so this is a week earlier than expected. I was able to do everything in Spain and was eager to race again. In Spain, the main focus was accumulating hours. Everything went well."
"What I’ve already indicated: I think I was a bit further along around this time last year. But it doesn’t have to be amazing every time," the man in the rainbow jersey explains.
Does Van der Poel hope to win with a big gap at his comeback? "I hope so," he laughs. "But personally, I don’t think the reference race in Zonhoven (which was his first cyclocross race of the season last year, ed.) is a good one. We’ll see how the race unfolds, but I don’t expect the same scenario."
Mathieu van der Poel
