Always hungry for victories, Mathieu van der Poel won his fourth victory in as many rounds of the Cyclo-cross World Cup this Tuesday in Gavre (Belgium). The Dutchman, winner ahead of his eternal Belgian rival Wout Van Aert, dominated his opponents head and shoulders. To the point of jostling one of them, a latecomer, who was in his path during the 3rd lap of the race. The sequence sparked a lot of reactions on social networks, with the dominant behavior of “MVDP” being criticized in particular.
Victim of the stroller, Felipe Nystrom does not blame Raymond Poulidor’s grandson. Worse, he feels guilty for the unfortunate incident. “What happened there was 1000% my fault. Mathieu must have pushed me, it should have been even harder. I was on the way and I feel very bad about it,” the Costa Rican told Belgian media Sporza. In response, van der Poel played down the affair, also questioned by Sporza: “I know the story of Felipe Nystrom and I have sympathy for him. (…) I read that he apologizes, but that is not even necessary. I wasn’t mad at him either. Felipe made an error in judgment and it can happen. Everyone makes a mistake sometimes.”
Consumed by guilt and known for his tragic past (alcohol and drug addiction, suicide attempts) before getting on the bike, Nystrom hopes that the road world champion will avoid too heavy reproaches.
“I fear that Mathieu will receive hateful messages. Some people tell me I’m stupid, but others say van der Poel was mean and didn’t have to push me. It’s horrible that he suffered the negative impact of a situation in which I put him, regretted the rider, who is now considering stopping his season following this episode. Normally, I had the means to continue until the World Championships. But now I’m going to leave next week. My mistake yesterday is too big for me to continue. I have to take responsibility for the consequences of my actions, I disappointed people.”
A regrettable eventuality and brushed aside by… Van der Poel, in solidarity with his adversary despite everything: “He should certainly not abandon his dream for that. I hope he stays here and continues to carry out his program.”