Mathieu van der Poel reflects on his cycling career, Wout van Aert rivalry & MORE | The Gruppetto

Cycling superstar Mathieu van der Poel sits down with Rob Hatch at Canyon headquarters. Reflecting on the last six years, the Dutchman delves into his amazing 163 victories since first joining Canyon. From iconic wins like the Amstel Gold Race to the thrill of racing as well as fierce rivalries with the likes of Wout van Aert, it has been a journey of triumphs and unforgettable moments with more definitely on the horizon.

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Hello everybody this week we’ve brought the gretto to the land of canals waffles beer fruits and chocolate and of course cycling it’s the homeland of the cobal classics we’re in Gent in Belgium now the Flemish Arden is just down the road its cobbles and its Bergs are the

Centerpiece of world cycling this week as we start the Flemish Holy Week and countdown to the rondan vandra the Flemish Holy Week of cycling began in Baker with the a known worldwide as the E3 saxo classic 10 Riders were away in the E3 saxo classic including the French

TT star Remi Cav he also had a teammate with him but it was a really strong group up the road this was the CL aronda the mini Flanders many of the same climbs in a different order donda without the distance a headwin forecast for the finale meant that everybody was

Looking at the tyberg that was where the race was supposed to kickoff and that was where the race in Earnest did kickoff match F Paul showed that he was the strongest going up Tom bonin’s old Favorite Hill leel Trek with the team that kept attacking though try to use

Their numbers as well as Vis Malisa bike doing the same several different Riders were fired up the road but mat F Paul sort of let all of that play out around him when the race was at the stats y SP one of the definitive moves came o laso

Launching match fle going wad fard also going with him now in this race the quamon and the P are the other way round to what we usually see in the r of flra it would be the patberg first here and then the alont and on the patberg An

Almighty crash Fondo launching yet again and this time bizarrely wat fard slipping crashing and out the back of a chasing pack ful launched over the patberg fart was desperate to just stay back in the race but fart was back on when they got to the Quant going up the

Quadon fol extended his lead 30 seconds at that point before fard was led out he took off on his own adventure bizarrely still having the legs and the power somewhere and really starting to close the gap to FAO that Gap got to as little as 11 seconds at one point but then F

Paul continued to exert his dominance fat running out of energy after what was already a miraculous comeback F was soon over a minute ahead fard going back to those behind W fart was caught by yasper sta they were riding for the other spots on the podium as Macho fipo by this

Point knew he was about to do what both he and his father hadn’t previously been able to do better a second or third and win E3 fer Paul celebrating saluting as the world of cycling saluted yet another Stellar performance from one of its biggest showman the world champion

Winning in ARL Baker second place went to yasper sta final place on the Podium the two-time winner one for night now there was no rest for the wicked because next up just two days later was Ken wlim in flers fields in the races prior to it

It all been about Este Works Pro time and of course leel Trek with their multiple options to try and challenge for the classics there’d be nothing to separate a big group of riders over the climes mvy star with former Rider F flon looking on from the Belgian TV studios

Knew that they didn’t have the fastest Sprinter but were continuously attacking through norcar and Makai once again the kelberg would be the centerpiece of the race in kwam and the world champion L keki who else would attack over both ascents first time she managed to take a

Couple of riders with her that would come back together again before the Second Ascent this time the most difficult over the ell side and she’d once more be at the front again a small group this time got away just a few Riders able to follow the very best in

The world but on the long run into wam with a cross Tailwind things would come back together once more mvar knew that they didn’t have the fastest Sprinter however and they’d fire first Emma norcar and then fla maai up the road it’ be Grace Brown to have a go in

The final few kilometers just when it looked like there was going to be a big bunch Sprint around 30 riders coming to the line together Brown will be caught there with 500 M to go and those 30 Riders did contest in the end a big bunch Sprint Lorena viz was the winner

And what a start to the season she’ had continuing where she left off the year before five wins in 10 Race days absolutely flying for the men there was no defending Champion Kristoff laort he’d be absent for visma Lisa bike as well as Matel jensson who was rested

Excellent in the classic so far plus W fard not riding this year at hint wam there’d be more misery for visma Lisa bike with a nasty crash taking out Yan tratnik earlier in the race after starting in E the win had been howling all morning long and by the time the

Riders got to the muda one of the windiest places in the whole of Europe the pelan was splitting into different bunches Kent wlam is an important cobal classic but with Monument distance not with all the climbing of the tour of Flanders but with over 250 km to be

Ridden it’s always going to be a hard day specifically when the race had already split up like it had gone in the wind when they got to the Hill Zone all the climbs nine of them in the space of 60 km more attacks came things had come

Back together to a certain degree but the Eight Men who’ been up the road earlier on were already caught and there was a group of over 35 at the front of the race it was The Usual Suspects attacking the Trek tried to do the damage safe in the knowledge that yasper

Philipo was in the peltin and also able to win a Sprint the Tactical flexibility offered by the numbers of leel tre also made the race riveting each time up the camel bag three ascents in total two in the easier side the last time up the 22% Max or side things were different

Difficult Jonathan Milan made one of the main attacks of the day and it’d be out there until the plug streets three sectors of gravel road Offroad where punctures occurred mainly for yasper sturen thip also attacked on the plug streets pulling Mass Pon with him Milan was eventually caught bethers himself

Would then attack the games were continuing after what we’d seen on Friday and heading into the 34 km run in into wam itself cross Tailwind still behind them they’ man manag to increase their lead pson and ful rode together all the way the group would be sprinting

Behind but it would only be for third place that’s because they came to the Finish straight together the two who’d animated the race the two who’d given each other a right kicking throughout the day funerall sat on the wheel for the few hundred meters before the Sprint

Was launched pson launching it from the front but unable to come around this time fer Paul showed he was human and he was beaten Mar pson winning k kin for the second time in his career four times after his first ever Victory there mat of f a paol it’s still one to

Tick off second though is his best ever result that Sprint for third place behind Was Won by Yi Mouse of Bora hansra and he completed the podium well just before his heroics at E3 on Friday I was lucky enough to catch up with the world champion matcha fol as he

Announced an historic 10-year deal with his bike brand Canyon together we traversed the five greatest moments of his glittering career so far so we decided today to focus on about five different magical moments from your career if you like there’d be more than five we know that but it’s difficult to

Pick we’ve tried to pick five I’m going to start at home for you in the Netherlands with a big Dutch flag right across your chest was a perfect sunny day in limborg yeah and I remember being on the Finish Line commentating with a mutual friend of ours Matt

Stevens Matt was laughing in the background because of what you did because we didn’t expect the finish that we had and I just remember saying I don’t believe I’ve seen anything like this in my life and I hadn’t how did you live that day what Memories do you have

Of that day yeah I know uh yeah for for sure it was very special because it was also my first year I did the the road and um also in tour of flers already with the with the Crush downhill and I came up fourth that

Year so I knew I was feeling good and then Amo was my last race actually of the year and I was a bit too excited maybe I started attacking uh alone at I think 70 or 80k to go bit at 6 years ago because now it’s normal if you start

Taking 8K to go but then I was the only one so I also ended up alone which was not the best decision and then yeah in the end it was it was super strange because it was quite a a big gap and then everything came together together the last kilometer actually and nobody

Wanted to really work anymore so I just yeah went all in and I closed the Gap myself and just started sprinting and somehow I managed to win the race so for sure that was a bit the Breakthrough for the bigger audience yeah I think and

We’ll go on to the off-road in a while I think all cycling fans and connoisseur knew who you were Family Ties everything you’ve done on the Crossfield but for the general public audience who maybe is sitting there the sufur on a Sunday afternoon switches the television on oh

God who’s this much of fun a pool guy that was a bit special um you talk about sort of attacking from 8ks to go now do you feel a bit of a trend Setter in that yeah um I think I can say that I’m one

Of the first guy who started it and um now I’m not anymore like for example worlds in glasgo 150k to go they start attacking and even I was like a bit shocked I didn’t understand but in the end for me the harder the race the better so I’m

Uh I’m actually quite yeah quite happy we raise the way we do and you also can see if you talk to people and everybody’s really into cycling now and they’re scared to to miss any attacks like if you start watching 100K to go you could have missed already a decisive

Move so that’s that’s nice to he of course if you read the Belgian or Dutch press last year they were talking there was one word anticipator yeah and they were all trying to get ahead of you everybody wanted to anticipate you and that’s sort of the the fashion that

You’ve set for racing now no yeah I think also uh early Breakaway is like something that sometimes doesn’t even exist anymore it’s just yeah we start racing from kilometer zero and we stop after 260k sometimes so that’s quite uh quite crazy but it makes a they go fast

And uh yeah I like it that day and I’m still um I remember those words and I remember you holding your head across the line like that like almost not believing what you’d done no but also yeah I I didn’t think I was actually pulling the group because I yeah was

Aiming for maybe a top 10 maybe a top five but then the last stretch is quite long in Amel and all of a sudden I saw I could still maybe win it so also for me was yeah until onek to go I didn’t know I didn’t know I could still win win the

Race so it was for me also quite difficult to believe that little moment of adrenaline where it felt to me like you just dressed in Orange scored the winning goal in the World Cup final because the noise at the finish line was like nothing I have ever heard in my

Life before were you conscious could you take that in or you just lost in the moment no I was yeah a bit lost in the moment of course I was I know it hurt I went pretty deep so I also had to lay down and then there was just yeah it

Felt like thousand people standing over me but afterwards I saw some some images of people filming on their iPhone when I crossed the line and it’s like yeah like you say a football stadium exploding well uh scoring a winning goal so um in the moment itself you don’t really yeah

You don’t really appreciate this maybe the wrong word but you don’t really know what’s really going on but but then afterwards if you see the images yeah it gives me go Goosebumps as well why does that Victory rank for you amongst the 163 that you’ve taken you don’t have to

Give me a number I mean it’s it’s super difficult to I get this often this question like what’s what is your most beautiful Victory but um yeah they all mean something different of course and some are bigger than others for sure but I think winning in the National jersey

In the only big classic race that’s left in the Netherlands um and also yeah was like I said maybe my breakthrough on the road so for sure that’s um that’s something special and yeah we’re sitting here and you start talking about it again so it means it was quite a big

Victory of course I think it’s in the minds of probably everybody here I imagine if you followed cycling since 2019 and 5 years ago now I can’t believe it’s been time was so fast um I always felt young but now I see guys coming into cycling 18 19 years old winning

Immediately and um I’m 10 years older so um but I I still believe I have my my best years to come well I’m glad you believe that cuz we’re going to come back to that you’ve just signed a 10-year contract it’s a good job he’s feeling

Quite young isn’t it still let’s move on to the cobbles because of course you’re a Dutch man French frots born in Belgium surrounded by cobbles yeah Flanders Ru what do they mean to those races yeah actually I don’t really like to write on CS there’s no don’t say that when you go

Back home POS I like to race on cobbles but I never train on them that’s a big difference I think in a race it’s super nice but I I actually don’t know anybody who really says and today I’m going to do some par Cobble sections nobody

Enjoys this so it’s just it’s a magical moment of course to raise there it’s something super special it’s Unique it’s like yeah Sano it’s places you really you don’t come there often um so that makes it quite unique i’ like to talk about your relationship with pressure

Because you know none of us really in this room will know what you feel it’s it’s a personal thing everyone’s talking about you everyone expects performances how do you deal with that yeah I’m quite used to it since I have already had some yeah quite some big uh big appointments

Uh with with cycling in the past of course um in the beginning when I was younger uh it got me nervous but now I’m kind of used to it and I think uh nobody puts more pressure on me than than I do myself I want to perform and I want to

Win um that’s why I started racing as well I really love to win and um I think that’s also what what motivates and drives me do Rivals motivate you or do you just concern yourself with yourself oh yeah for sure I I mainly concern myself and I try to be the best version

Of myself but yeah you you have to to win you have to pause the the rivals um so yeah it just keeps me on my Edge as well um the better they are the better I have to be and I think this is all that counts in sports there’s no one

Particular rival who keeps you awake at night yeah I know no not awake I sleep pretty well but for sure yeah I have um with white F of course everybody knows the the history we have but now as well po comes to do some classic races as well

Sometimes and he’s he’s also good in that so um but like I said it’s good for me um gives me on my Edge and I know I have to work even harder to to try and win well that relationship and rivalry with wild fard started before you both guys

Got to the road and that’s where I’d like to go next Offroad because I know it’s something you love um it’s not just about road racing isn’t it and that’s why I think we love watching you as well because you’re you’re always entertaining whether it’s on the

Mountain bike or on the Cross Field um if you had to choose a discipline could you yeah that’s really difficult um I think yeah just to train I enjoy myself the most on a mountain bike just because you can also come to really beautiful places

Where you cannot go with a road bike but for sure for me the most fun is to switch things switch disciplines it’s super nice of course six years ago when I started rideing Kenyon I was a full-time cycle cross Rider and that was the most important thing but that

Changed a bit now but I still do enjoy all different kind of disciplines what’s your favorite place to train oh I uh really love Spain now um but I think one of the most beautiful places I’ve been on the mountain bike is still Leu it’s uh yeah there on the

Mountain bike it’s really yeah maybe the best thing you can do on a bike beautiful um I’d like to talk a bit more about cross if that okay because six World titles now um there’s only one more and I know that not everybody likes talk of Records I don’t know if you do

Or not but I think we know that Eric dlam is the world record holder seven crossw World titles um you just signed a 10-year deal which we mentioned earlier on we’re glad that you’re still feeling good enough to achieve things is that record uh part of that 10-year deal is

That something you’d like to achieve do you have goals yeah for sure I have goals but it’s not that I really um yeah changed this um I just like I said I try to be the best version of myself every years and then um hopefully the the rest

Comes by itself but for sure I’m getting pretty close to doing something historical and I think I think you always get remembered uh by those kind of things um so for sure it will be a goal the next years to to try and break the record so we haven’t seen the last

Of you on the Cross Field uh I don’t think so good news I hope no I still I still enjoy it um it’s it’s also the discipline I started with when I was uh I think I did my first year race when I was six years old on cycle cross bike so

It’s still my first Passion but it’s just uh my goal switched a bit to the road and to mountain bike also um uh but still when I jump back on the on the side cross bike I still enjoy it a lot I’m glad you talk about passion

Having F because I think we’d like to know who the real mats away from the Crossfield the mountain bike and the road what else do you enjoy I mean I’ve seen you playing golf recently you’re into that yeah I um used to be uh yeah I

Used to have quite some energy also next to the bike but that’s also while getting older it goes down a bit as well uh I train more than I used to so um yeah since a few years now I really enjoy golf also it’s really good to

Clear the mind as well to uh to go on the course with some friends and I think yeah for me that’s the most important thing to be to be relaxed and um yeah just to be happy and life I think that’s also uh also next to the bike but also

On the bike it it helps you a lot to perform there’s no competitive instincts there you’re not going to live golf next year are you uh no no for sure not but I’m always competitive F in golf competitivity has brought you those rainbow jerseys we talked about in in

The cyc cross there’s a different rainbow jersey you wearing this year it’s on the road for the next few months and you you took it in a in a race that had people like me in the commentary Box jumping out of our seat in Glasgow because you were riding away to Victory

And then you crashed on that horrible Corner in Glasgow at the bottom of that Hill what was going through your head there um not too much actually it’s just yeah instantly I just jumped back on the bike and hoped everything was okay uh which luckily it was and I could

Continue on adrenaline a bit I think but for sure yeah if I have to name one of my my best victories for sure this one has a plays in in the top five is that because of what you achieved or or any other reason no yeah I think also the

Way the race developed I think was one of the hardest races um I’ve ever did as well but I felt super good that day and I was already in the tour I was thinking about about um yeah trying to win the World Championship I think it’s also

Yeah the the highest thing for me as I’m too big to try and win a grand tour I think for me it’s the highest possible to achieve in in Road cycling and um yeah after winning two monuments um in a classic season already then topping it off by becoming world champion for sure

It’s a year to remember that the year you remember the most or I hope uh uh I can do uh as good as I did this year or even better is going to be very difficult but for sure I will remember last year yeah forever where can we

Expect to see you this year then obviously the classics first yeah I mean the classics are a big goal again we did my first race this weekend which was successful with the team with winning another Monument for the team so that’s um yeah it’s quite exceptional um and

For me I have a bit the same races as I did last year only I will do am again and Le also um and then in the summary I we see how the puzzle will fit it’s quite difficult with the Olympic here um the aim I still aim to compete in

Mountain bike and road but it has to be possible to combine it as well and I also don’t want to jeopardize one or the two to to do them both I really want to be the best version of myself when I do them well I think you’ve been the you

Know the embodiment of if you’re going to do something do it properly in the last few years so we’ll trust you on that um in summer I’m glad you mentioned the summer there and also Sano because that’s the the fifth and final one of your magic moments really we’ve had to

Put them together because they’re both linked to your grandfather um what you did in the tour you know that was that was so emotional first the the special jerseys then of course winning the stage the way you won it taking the yellow Jersey as well and in Sano winning 62

Years after your grandfather won yeah day to day actually so wow it was really special um yeah of course the history we have in the Tour of France as a family is also exceptional and um yeah the only thing that is uh was a bit of is that yeah he

Wasn’t there anymore to uh to enjoy it he would have been really proud of course but I think um yeah this is for sure one of the most emotional wins I’ve had and um yeah also Sanu it’s I think it’s quite unque unque to to achieve it

62 years after my my grandfather a really special moment for all of us I think looking on fans of cycling whether associated with the brand or you or your team Al in the K that’s something that most people enjoyed whoever they were cheering for I think it was a really

Special moment so thanks for bringing us all that yeah well you’ve been part of a generation you’ve been leading a generation I think we’d all agree that has changed cycling you mentioned the early attacking the entertainment certainly for people like me you have to sit and watch and and talk about it all

Day long um you make our jobs a lot easier I mean being part of this generation is entertaining as important as winning oh that’s a difficult one uh I think I lost some races uh well maybe being too entertaining and in the end um yeah after 10 years when you stop

Cycling nobody will uh look at the entertaining races you did they will look at the races You’ve Won and I think I made that switch maybe two three years ago that I really uh don’t want to look back back at missed opportunities and um the thing is uh it is still entertaining

Because everybody joins the party now ATK to go but I’m not not alone anymore and no like I said I think I really I know that yeah winning big races is is the most important thing and it’s more important than uh trying to uh yeah to do something stupid in a

Race well I really look forward to watching you continue to entertain this I tell you what entertainment palarz the palarz is not bad is it 163 victories so far with Canyon here’s to many more let’s enjoy the generational Talent while he’s still with us and racing matth ful ladies and

Gentlemen from Cobin in Germany to Harold Becker in Belgium and staying in Belgium next weekend in alard the heart of Flanders match fapo will look to be a record breaker as will L keki dedication will be what you need for both of those men’s and women’s races L keki already

Shares the two wins as a record for the women’s Ronda of fandra matcha fol if he were to win next week would equal three wins the record shared by quite a few Riders at the moment it’s going to be a tough race as always the next Monument

Of the season and there are some big favorites in the women L keki looks to be the outright favorite but of course challenges could come within her own team there’s also the leel Trek team that seem to be racing well and on the men’s side of course leel Trek trying to

Challenge matcha F theol and let’s not forget about wad fard who has based his entire spring altitude camps and all missing races sacrificing early season wins and coming to try and take this one Vim Lisa bike will put together a really strong team and of course it will be the

Usual Parkour in Flanders all the cobbles and bears qu P be combination plenty going on with all the atmosphere that I mentioned to add into the mix as well well as well as keki for S works the likes of roysa following viers of course victorious in Kent wem should be

There b Sumer who’s also been winning in Flanders recently is there alongside the likes of D and F amroy Longo borghini always to watch everybody will be looking to keki world champion and Belgian Hero Of course to see if she can take that Victory and that record all

Out it will of course be a first time that anybody won three times in a row as well in the women’s Rond of fandra and from outright record possibilities it could be one for Mato fondul to share the record a win would put him on the

Same number of Victories as Bose man Lon Mel bonan and Canela a list of Legends the F anyway is already set to join there’s a whole host of other names to add into the mix and before the Riders get there they’ll be racing at DOR vandra as well you can watch dor

Vandra on Discovery plus and on Eurosport and on Sunday every single pedal stroke of the men’s ROV of vandra will be live as it leaves aner goes through the flat section on the road to the first cobbles the fun will start when they’re in the Flemish then the

Women’s race will also follow and as always you can watch it all live on Discovery plus and on Eurosport we’ve reached the end of the gretto this week but thanks for watching we hope you’ve enjoyed it please remember to like share and subscribe if you did and we’ll be

Back with you next week after what is always the biggest day of the year in Flanders we’ll be in alard at the finish line of the tour of Flanders to recap everything that happens on that great day in both the men’s and women’s races we’ll also be previewing the cobbled

Action over the Border in France yes it’ll be time for the hell of the North at for now though from beautiful gent it’s goodbye