<\/p>\n
“See that Strava post from his ‘MVDP Classic’ in Spain? 215 kilometers at 38.5 km\/h and an average of 295 watts! Hey. You can’t train for that in Belgium. Unless you take wide, flat roads and ride a constant 45 km\/h.”<\/p>\n
Absolute focus<\/p>\n
Beyond Van der Poel’s incredible talent, Albert also admires his strong mentality. “He decides everything himself. ‘I’ll just relax on my Spanish mountain, where I can do my thing to my heart’s content, where he makes us toast and guacamole in the afternoon, everyone else leaves me alone, and I don’t have to take anyone else into account,’ he reasons.”<\/p>\n
“Interviews? He rarely does them. Aside from the obligatory quotes after every race or cyclocross race, you can dial into a Teams call once every six months for five questions or so. Eat, sleep, train, repeat. He’s absolutely right to create that luxury for himself. Such extreme focus makes a real difference.”<\/p>\n
The best cyclocrosser to ever liveAlbert and the other two guests Sven Nys and Erwin Vervecken, both as well multiple-time world champions, then settle on one thing; that Mathieu van der Poel<\/a> is the best cyclocrosser of history. And it’s not even close.<\/p>\n “Eight world titles soon,” points out Vervecken. “That puts him close to the ten titles Nino Schurter has in mountain biking and Stefan Everts in motocross, across disciplines and sports. Iconic, indeed.”<\/p>\n Albert continues that for Van der Poel, it has for a long time been a matter of passion and prestige above anything else. And the most prestigious title; ‘The most rainbow jerseys’ is already within his sight. What next? Perhaps mountain bikes where he’s yet to win a rainbow jersey… “At 31, Mathieu has long since stopped being about the money, but purely about the prestige. ‘What can take me even higher on the international sports ladder?'”<\/p>\n