Van der Poel on his retirement from cyclocross: "Only Vlaeminck's record could push me to continue"
Mathieu van der Poel claimed his sixth World Cyclocross Championship this weekend in Tabor, a feat achieved by very few in the history of this sport and which now seems to have left him with a difficult dilemma about his future.
Mathieu van der Poel is torn between leaving the discipline in which he has shone the most or matching the record of De Vlaeminck
The current World Champion in road and cyclocross has been saying for months that this could be his last planned season in the discipline. The reason is purely professional, and if he wants to improve his performance in the Classics or Grand Tours on the road, perhaps the best option is not to dedicate his training to 1-hour competitions during the winter.
Even so, after winning his sixth title in Tabor, he was asked again about the matter and it was then when he left a last door to cyclocross: to match, with seven titles, the record of the historic Erik De Vlaeminck.
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“It would also be a reason for me to keep racing. The rainbow jersey is important and De Vlaeminck's record is in my mind. He has not competed for years but people still talk about it and that is something I like".
"Cyclocross takes a lot of energy from me and I'm not just talking about the race, but everything around it. It's not a decision I can make on my own".
On the other hand, we cannot forget that the Roodhooft brothers, directors of the Alpecin-Deceuninck, owe much of their success to this discipline and although they would surely like to continue seeing their star triumph in this sport, they have already stated that the final decision will be made with due calm.
Now surely Mathieu van der Poel will take a few well-deserved days off after which he will begin preparing for his road season. The Dutchman's main goal for the year is set at the Paris Olympics, where he could compete in the road and mountain bike events.