Spanish 17-year-old who followed Van der Poel on Montrose Street: "During Junior World Championships they went up even faster"
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Follow us on GoogleThe Spanish junior Adria Pericas (17 years old) was in the Dutch news on Friday without realizing it himself. The young rider followed the accelerating Mathieu van der Poel during his recon on Montrose Street, and the footage went viral. IDLProCycling.com spoke to the cheerful man from the Iberian Peninsula after the World Championships for juniors!
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After that footage, Pericas was promptly featured in the Spanish newspaper Marca and even De Telegraaf made room for the Spanish junior. He had not noticed the latter, but when we told him, his eyes began to sparkle, and his lips curled into a smile. "Oh really?" Pericas asked, wide-eyed.
"Mathieu passed me on a different climb, and I tucked into his wheel. I had to work hard to hold that wheel," laughed the friendly Spaniard. Van der Poel himself also mentioned it during his press talk on Friday. "I pushed hard a few times on the lap. I didn't know who that boy was, but he asked me if he could stay in my wheel."
Pericas laughs after the World Championships for juniors: "They even went a bit faster than Mathieu"
"I could hardly say anything," Pericas laughs when we relayed the Dutch cycling star's comments. "It hurt a lot, but during the race, they went a bit faster uphill than Mathieu," he notes after his own World Championships.
A hearty laugh punctuated his words, making it clear that Pericas was pleased with himself. "The race went well for me. My legs hurt even more now, but I ended up 26th in this World Championships for juniors, and that makes me happy. It was a great weekend; I enjoyed it."
Footage: Pericas follows Van der Poel on Montrose Street
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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