In the wake of Mathieu van der Poel’s sixth Cyclocross World Championships victory and his admission that he might look to skip winter ‘cross campaigns in future, his Alpecin-Deceuninck crew boss Christoph Roodhooft has mentioned he “would not see it taking place instantly.”
The Dutchman, who received the world title for the sixth time with a dominant experience in Tabor on Sunday, mentioned after his victory, “If it seems that I can carry out even higher on the street by skipping cyclo-cross, then I’ll do this.”
However, nothing has but been determined, with Roodhooft telling WielerFlits that the problem hasn’t but been mentioned.
“As far as I do know that has by no means been mentioned. Never say by no means, after all, however I do not see it taking place instantly,” he mentioned in an interview after the race.
For his half, Van der Poel mentioned he’d speak about it along with his Alpecin-Deceuninck crew, including that his 2024 street programme could be determined quickly.
“It’s a call that I clearly can’t make alone,” he mentioned after capturing the rainbow jersey. “But we are going to talk about it throughout the crew. We will know extra about my street programme in two weeks, however not but about subsequent winter.”
Roodhooft mentioned that he was all the time sure that his rider would race to the win on Sunday, taking the title by 37 seconds from one other Dutchman, Joris Nieuwenhuis.
“Never had any [doubts],” mentioned Roodhooft. “I used to be a bit extra tense than common anyway. But I believe pressure is suitable on a day like right now.
“An occasion just like the World Championships deserves that. You do not win a race like this similar to that.”
For Van der Poel, the win was his thirteenth in 14 races throughout the 2023-24 cyclocross season. His solely miss got here on the UCI World Cup in Benidorm final month, when he took a chicane too rapidly late within the race, hitting a padded metallic pole within the course of and later settling for fifth place.
Despite the lengthy checklist of wins – he now has 161 in whole at elite degree – his focus this season was fully on the World Championships. Racking up extra victories within the X20 Trofee, World Cup, and Superprestige does little for his packed palmarès in comparison with one other rainbow jersey.
“I really perceive that assertion,” Roodhooft mentioned about Van der Poel’s declaration that his season would solely be successful if he received the Worlds. “For different riders, it is perhaps good to win 10 or 12 occasions, however with him, it is solely in regards to the World Championships.
“We’ll undoubtedly have a good time this, however it’s additionally completely different as a result of we’re so removed from house. You want to have a good time these massive wins with the entourage there and that is a bit harder now.”
