Van der Poel ready for field season: ‘It will certainly not be a disappointment’ | Sport

Van der Poel will be back in Belgium on Thursday, but he spoke to the press from the hotel lobby in Benicassim on Wednesday. In Spain he prepared for a week for his big comeback in cyclocross. Prior to the interview, he just visited the beach. Not to stroll, but to sharpen the sand feeling for Saturday’s cross in Antwerp. “But riding a little through the tracks is quite different from cycling through a strip of sand at maximum heart rate. I am also curious how far I am. ”

It’s been 314 days since you drove another cross. And yet father Adrie already said: “Mathieu will compete to win.” Is that realistic?

“That can be realistic. To be honest: I am better prepared than when I returned to Ruddervoorde last year (where he also immediately won, ed.). I haven’t done much cross-technical yet, but I have already trained a lot more interval. I asked for that myself, because I didn’t feel great when I started racing again last year. I did win, but it was always hard to the finish. That is why I have now – although mainly on the road – not only done basic training, but also interval.

When Van Aert started racing, everyone thought it logical that he would need time. Why shouldn’t that apply to you?

“We have had a different program. Wout had a full summer with the Tour, I didn’t do a big tour. Wout also drove the World Cup. ”

Is it strange that he starts racing two weeks earlier than you?

“The period that Wout rested is short after such a summer. But I don’t judge that, he feels it best himself. For myself I have learned to take my rest. Also in my head, yes. ”

What do you think of the level in the cross this season? Van Aert finished ‘only’ fourth in Boom and was a bit disgusted about that.

“He was disappointed himself, but I thought he was riding well. Cyclocross remains a specific sport. Last year I won those first crosses, but that was tough until the finish. It is not easy to come out against those refined guys. This year it is even more important, because they have been working on their season for a lot longer. I have followed the crosses of Merksplas, Tabor and Boom on television. Kortrijk also a piece. The level now seems to be very high and Antwerp and Gavere are immediately tough crosses to start again. But as I say: I am satisfied with my level. It will not be a failure. ”

In an earlier interview you said that you have achieved all your goals in cyclocross and that you have a different feeling about the cross. Has it become less important?

“I certainly dive into the field no less enthusiastically. But I have all achieved the goals I set for cyclocross. Not to come across as arrogant, but the big goals now lie in mountain bike and on the road. My mountain bike World Cup victory is certainly in the top 5 of the most euphoric moments of my career. That shows how important mountain biking has become for me. A few years ago, cyclocross was the main activity. I lived up to it and had to prove myself. Now that is all different. ”

But don’t you take the crosses you ride any less seriously?

“If I start with a jersey number, I am sharp anyway. This is a very short cyclocross season, with maybe fourteen races in all. I will drive all of them with motivation. In the seasons of thirty or forty crosses it became a bit more of a habit towards the end ”, he laughs.

Is cyclocross the discipline in which you enjoy the most?

“When it comes to training, mountain biking comes first. It’s different for the races: that’s where I see the most on the mountain bike. For me they are the hardest to win. Only in the last year did I enjoy competitions. ”

You have not been able to mountain bike in this Corona year. Are you not afraid that you will soon have to catch up with the specialists?

“I am a little afraid of that, yes. For myself I have made the connection with the world top by often sitting on the mountain bike and training specifically. I have now lost a year there. I have been on a mountain bike three times during an internship in Livigno after Tirreno-Adriatico, but that will not make the difference. I do have some doubts: what will it be like to start over? “

To what extent has the planning been made for Tokyo? You will have to ride world cups in advance to have a favorable starting position there.

“There is a preliminary schedule, but I will only be able to do two or three World Cups to get some points and limit the damage.”

Before the Games you first ride the Tour. Are you going to Paris?

“There are not many possibilities, so the Tour and the Games are pretty sure. And it is not my intention to leave earlier. “

What do you expect from your first Tour? Is the green jersey a goal?

“Above all, I want to win a stage. The green might be somewhere in the back of my mind, but I’m not going to pin down on it. It can become a goal if it succeeds. ”

Do we have to conclude that cyclocross in the coming weeks is only a preparation for those big goals on the road and on the mountain bike?

“That is too short-sighted, but the pressure is not the same as before. I have no rankings to defend. The World Cup will be the main goal, everything else will be subordinate to it. ”