Watching the race in Hulst, the Dutch stage of the Cyclocross World Cup, the first thing you understand is why When the three tenors enter the field everything changes, it becomes another sportIt would be enough to just watch the first two minutes of the match: Mathieu Van der Poel starts with the number 38, in front there are all the protagonists of the world circuit between Belgians and Dutch and the other tenor: the world champion tom pidcock.
Two minutes. That's how long it took VDP to get back in front, in sixth place, alongside a Pidcock who didn't even give a damn, almost as if he knew his rival would catch up right away. How did he do it? Great power, certainly. Class, certainly not lacking. But above all, competitive determination and concentration.Those two ingredients that often make the difference. Punctual He constantly recommends it, especially to younger people. Maybe they should watch those two minutes on the computer again and memorize them...
The gloves removed
When Mathieu Van Der Poel enters the race, he always does so with full knowledge of the facts, in the sense that he knows well that he is in a position to winHe was also like that last year, when he took to the track in Dendermonde, but he was a pale physical copy of the champion we know. Hulst's is a different Van Der Poel, much more on form even if he says his back is not yet right. And when that happens, victory rarely eludes him. It's only happened twice since 2015, and two more will remain.
The race had a fairly simple progression. It was a fast-paced race, on slippery terrain, and was run much earlier than usual to make room for Belgium's World Cup soccer match. Van Der Poel kept pace with his rivals in the first two laps, despite obvious technical problems, which caused him to crash twice. On the third lap, Pidcock shifted gears and shook off the specialists. the Dutchman, for his part, takes off his gloves: a sign that something is changing, that he is about to leave?
Waiting for Van Aert
In the fourth lap, only the two of them remained, but Van Der Poel had more and went away, without being caught again, in fact Pidcock eventually gave up also due to a fall with a problem with the rim, so much so that he was forced to retire. The first match is in favor of the home team, but Sunday will be a different story, also because the third wheel will arrive, a certain Wout Van Aert.
It is rare to see the champion of theAlpecin Deceuninck fully satisfied, but in the moments immediately following the victory of Hulst it was clearly perceived that this was not a victory like all the othersIt's as if he's shaken off the doubts and bad moods of last season, which lasted a paltry one and a half games. A season that was wiped out, this victory reconnects him to the VDP of two years ago.
«It's a gratifying victory because I finally had time and good health to prepare for my cyclocross outing».
And it seems strange to listen to him, considering that he has done very little specific training, just like Pidcock before the challenge of the Sunday before in Overijse, lost by a hair's breadth against Vanthourenhout.
Pidcock: no to the World Cup
In his post-race review, Van Der Poel highlights what went and what didn't: «Physical shape is already good and that comes thanks to the preparation that has already begun for the road season. Technically, however, they are very far behind and it was evident in the race.. Combining the two things takes time, I hope to be very different by the holiday season." Perhaps starting a week earlier in Vermiglio, a race he has circled in red on his very personal calendar.
The other tenor swallowed the defeat without brooding too much. The day before, meanwhile, he had finally... wet his rainbow jersey with a victory, triumphing in Kortrijk in the race of theH2O TrophyA race dominated, going away on the second lap and turning the race into a training session. The British rider from Ineos Grenadiers At the end of this weekend he confirmed that he is in better form than he was at the same time last year, but he also reiterated his refusal to defend the jersey.
«I want to honor her from the first to the last race I will be able to do – he said – but then I will have to think about preparing for the road season which will require time and attention."
Being champions is no longer enough…
What remains of the Hulst challenge? Another consideration: the different image that, as happens every year, the other protagonists assume. During the Dutch stage, iserbyt for example he lost the leadership of the general classification to Sweeck, but this almost seems like an aside, when in any sport it would perhaps be the main point of discussion. It is likely that, as Iserbyt himself says, the fight will continue until the end, but now that the big guns have entered the scene, few will notice.
It's the price you pay for the presence of champions, those who, with just a few hours of specific training, arrive and make the difference. There's no denying that watching the likes of Iserbyt, Sweeck, and Vanthourenhout makes you feel a little melancholy, condemned to live in a world where being champions is no longer enough...
