READY TO ROCK
It’s a dull January day in Belgium and outside a four-star Ghent hotel the slick metallic grey Porsche Panamera stands out among the family hatchbacks. You could be forgiven for thinking that Van Halen are in town, but the fact that there’s room in the back to fit a bike is a clue. The personalised number plate reading MVDP is a dead giveaway. An altogether different breed of rock star is in attendance.
The choice of car mirrors the flamboyance evident in Mathieu van der Poel’s racing. Muscular, powerful, stylish and with a storied heritage, he simply outclasses most of the competition. Style aside, it’s his results sheet that paid for it. Undoubtedly the best cyclo-cross racer in the world, his recent World Championship win was his third, the second in successive seasons. At the time of writing he has 15 consecutive wins, losing only once in his last 50 starts — he just peels off
