Mathieu van der Poel will make his debut in the field next week. Sports director Christoph Roodhooft previously confirmed that the stars were favorable for this, and the rider himself has also confirmed this. Father Adrie had already seen that things were going in the right direction.
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Good in his own skin
“I notice that from the text messages he sends me. He sends that things are going in the right direction,” Van der Poel Sr. told Het Nieuwsblad. He recently visited his son in Spain and saw that the rider is active and goal-oriented.
“You can see that he is busy with something and not simply cycling in circles. He stands there with a smile, puts on his shirt and shorts, goes cycling, stops for a coffee and continues riding,” Adrie once again concludes that Van der Poel feels completely at home on the Costa Blanca.
There the rider can perfectly combine training with relaxation. According to Adrie, it is a pleasant environment where Van der Poel can focus on his comeback. “It’s a lot of fun to be there and he will come back if he feels he can compete for the win,” he said.
Record title does not play
Of course, Van der Poel always wants to fight for victory, and hopefully also at the World Championships in Hulst where he can win a record number of 8 world titles. But that doesn’t matter so much, Adrie thinks: “It’s just a match he wants to win. Whether it be the 8th or the 3rd. We don’t have much in terms of milestones.”
“Is that not a kick? I don’t think so. You only start kicking it when you are no longer a rider,” says Van der Poel Sr at Sporza. “Only then do you realize what you have done. I don’t think the athletes are concerned with that.”
