Cyclocross Worlds conquered, Mathieu van der Poel 'starts again from zero' at Strade Bianche

Mathieu van der Poel says the rivalry between himself and Wout van Aert will be ‘something special’ to look back on at the end of their careers. 

There was little to separate the rivals on Sunday as Van der Poel beat Van Aert in a sprint finish at Hoogerheide to win the elite men’s 2023 UCI Cyclocross World Championship. 

It was the Dutchman’s fifth elite world title and the final exchange of the cyclocross season before the pair return to battle on the road during the Spring Classics. In comparison, Van Aert has three elite ‘cross world crowns and was beaten into second by his rival for the fourth time. 

“I think if you take one of us two away, then it makes the races less interesting for sure,” said a delighted Van der Poel. “It was a good battle against Wout who is really hard to beat, so I’m happy.

“It’s better already for a couple of years of cyclocross and the road, there is always respect between us. Maybe you don’t appreciate it sometimes when you get beaten but after our career it will be something special to look back on." 

Both riders tried to attack their rival during the race, with their opponent responding each time. On the final lap most people expected Van der Poel to launch his bid for glory on the barrier section, which he was visibly quicker over than Van Aert. However, the Dutchman left in until the final uphill sprint to the line and had enough to power past the Belgian. 

“I didn’t really make a plan in advance because I never do it and then Lars [Van der Haar] did a fast opening lap and I felt really good so I just went on the hardest part of the course,” added Van der Poel. 

“It was nice that there was two of us immediately, because we didn’t have to fight for position today. It was already pretty obvious that I wasn’t going to drop him and the other way around. I tried a couple of times, everybody expected me to try something at the barriers but I wanted to be second when we entered the finish straight. I don’t think in 10 or 15 metres I would take enough to drop him, so he would be in my wheel at the stairs again, he would have the advantage. That was my plan. 

“I tried to put some pressure on sometimes [over the barriers] but it’s not as if Wout wasn’t able to jump them. If he got off the bike then you can really do something. He was also really fast getting on the wheel so it made no sense to try something there. The other part of the course was harder.” 

Van der Poel came out second to Van Aert on five occasions as the pair battled during the Christmas period along with Tom Pidcock. 

After a heavy spell of racing the Dutchman saw the re-emergence of his back complaint after running through the sand at Zonhoven and took a break from cyclocross to prepare for the World Championships. 

“Everybody said during the Christmas period that Wout was stronger than I was,” said Van der Poel. “The moment I left for Spain I tried to turn a switch on and focus on this race. I needed two or three weeks to really work on it [back], get some treatment and do a lot of exercise. 

“It was quiet for me, rather than being on my bike or doing some other training I was in the gym almost every day which was necessary."

Despite being crowned cyclocross world champion, Van der Poel said that means nothing when he begins his Classics campaign at Strade Bianche. 

The Dutch star’s road season will include Milan-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Van der Poel said he is targeting ‘all of them’ and that his cyclocross world title will mean nothing next month. 

He added: “That’s always the case for every rider as it’s only five or six races so we try to be the best we can. 

“It’s really nice to become world champion but it isn’t anything to do with the road season. You start again from zero and I’m going to try and do some nice races in the road season.”