Even in Kaç, on the sun-drenched Turkish shores of the Mediterranean, Tibor Del Grosso was asked by the local press about his potential to fill the shoes of teammate Mathieu van der Poel. There are a few parallels between the Paris-Roubaix winner and Del Grosso, who claimed his first pro victory on Monday at the Presidential Tour of Turkey.
"I get compared a lot with Mathieu van der Poel, being from the same team and the same country, and maybe a similar type of rider," Del Grosso answered, "but I don't like to compare myself with other riders and especially a rider like Mathieu. People forget how special of a rider he is. He's out of this world. I'd love to come close to being as good as he is but I don't know if a new Van der Poel exists."
In many interviews previously, Del Grosso highlighted his admiration for his elder who had success both as a junior - winning multiple world championships in cyclocross and the junior road title in 2013 - and at the very top level of pro cycling. Van der Poel won his first elite road race at the age of 19 at the 2014 Ronde van Limburg, but only started his road career full-time five years later when he was 24 years old.
Like Van der Poel, Del Grosso is also a stand-out rider in cyclocross - he is the reigning under-23 cyclocross world champion and won the Dutch championships, five of six under-23 World Cup rounds and the overall series.
Del Grosso is already on an eye-catching trajectory on the road, too, at age 21 in his first pro season on the WorldTour roster of Alpecin-Deceuninck after just one year with their development team.
Earlier this season he came second to British sensation Matthew Brennan in stage 5 of the Volta Catalunya in March, was sixth in Dwars door Vlaanderen and 10th in De Brabantse Pijl, and on Monday he took his first pro win in stage 2 of the Tour of Türkiye.
Asked if he's a road rider now, he answered: "I'm both." Like Van der Poel, cyclocross hasn't lost the new versatile Dutch cyclist.
After standing on the top step of the podium in Kalkan on Monday, Del Grosso had another new experience, too. He will start stage 3 as the race leader thanks to the time bonus for his stage win. With a summit finish in Akyaka on Wednesday, he isn't expecting to hold the lead for long.
"It's the first time I will lead a pro race - but on Wednesday, someone else will go and grab the Turquoise jersey I wear now. We'll try to defend it tomorrow - 9km of climbing on stage 4 will be too much for me."
In addition to in-race firsts, Del Grosso is enjoying the chance to visit new places along the way.
"I didn't know much about this country before, except for the good baklava," he said. "Outside of Europe, I've only been to the US for racing once. This is my first time here. My team told me that it was a good opportunity for me to get my first pro win this season. It's a nice level here and it was good for me to come to build my confidence as a road rider.
"I already did some races with the WorldTour team last year and I feel that I've grown quickly on the road in half a year. The beginning of this road season was a bit tough but when I found a good shape, the Spring Classics gave me confirmation that I had a good level."
