With 59 kilometers left to finish the always tough Paris Roubaix on the French cobblestones, a new strategy emerged in the head of the star of the moment. As if there were no fatigue and hours of pedaling on top, Mathieu Van der Poel began to take advantage of his pursuers in an improvised start. He was alone, leading a difficult race and consolidating himself as the great champion he has been proving to be for a long time. Apparently, his new life in Spain, in Alicante, has a lot to do with the cyclist who swept to a historic victory in Alpecin.
“I have fewer commitments here. I’m more at ease, although the main reason is that I can train in a better climate. I even enjoy the long training rides. Five hours in the sun, with other cyclists, stopping for coffee…”,he said recently in an interview with the Belgian weekly Knack, where he did not hide his satisfaction with his new home in Alicante’s Marina Alta.
As a result of those long training sessions, he assures that “now I can pedal at a power almost as high as that of the start of a race at kilometer 240 or 260”, something that was proven in the Paris Roubaix a few days ago, where he swept everything.
HIS PARTNER, A BELGIAN FASHION BLOGGER
On the fringes of those training sessions is the calm and balance of his partner Roxanne Bertels, a Belgian fashion blogger. A modest, quiet day-to-day life with simple hobbies like playing paddle tennis or watching a Netflix series. Although now, next to the Mediterranean and its sun, she has discovered golf, another activity that brings her relaxation while keeping her mind busy since it is a sport she is far from mastering.
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Surely, all this environment helps him build the ‘anti worry’ cape he is so famous for. “We’ve talked about this in the team, but I prefer to talk to people close to me when I have to face setbacks,” he explains on Knack.
At 29, Van der Poel is the rider in vogue for his dominance and the ease he demonstrates in every race. The Dutchman has already won 53 titles. Since his beginnings in cyclocross, a modality that could be compared to the cobblestones of Paris Roubaix in terms of obstacles, but which in some sections involves getting off the bike and running alongside it on complicated terrain, the cyclist has been demonstrating that he is prepared for any terrain… we’ll see if he is also prepared for the green of the golf courses in Spain.
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