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Mathieu van der Poel is one of the undisputed stars of modern cycling. With a palmares most riders could only dream of, the Alpecin-Deceuninck star was a world champion on road, cyclocross and gravel. But what are the keys to the Dutchman’s success?
In an interview with WielerRevue, a teammate of Van der Poel, Silvan Dillier explains that the brutality of the Alpecin-Deceuninck training sessions is unlike anything he has seen before in his more than ten years in the World Tour peloton. “Van der Poel is without a doubt the best driver I have ever been on the team with,” says Dillier, a former teammate of the likes of Greg Van Avermaet and Thor Hushovd, warmly. “He is an inspiration to everyone on our team.”
Dillier is now four seasons into his career at Alpecin-Deceuninck and has seen the team change over the years. “When I joined the team, it was almost every day,” he laughs about the brutal training sessions. “We’ve calmed down a bit and are training a bit more structured, but every now and then we can’t contain ourselves and training explodes, as can happen in a race. Yes, it helps that Mathieu has changed a bit too because he is definitely the fuel when it comes to a race. If he wants to race on a quiet day, it doesn’t matter what’s on the agenda.
As has been shown again and again over the years, this also works well for Van der Poel. “The attack with which he decided Paris-Roubaix… It’s just beautiful to see. For us too,” remembers Dillier, noting that Van der Poel’s teammates sometimes have difficulty keeping track of things, even in training. “I would say I was able to push him to his limits, but of course I’m not going to ride myself to death in one training session when there’s still a whole training camp waiting for us. “We always come to a point where we think about it.”: That’s enough now.”
