Hard work, sweat, and flat tires: Mathieu van der Poel's three conclusions after the World Cup in Maasmechelen

And that's number 50: Mathieu van der Poel won his 50th World Cup cyclo-cross race on Saturday in Maasmechelen, equaling Sven Nys' record. In Belgian Limburg, it wasn't so much his toes that did the work, but rather his full tires. After the race, MVDP shared his story with IDLProCycling.com, among others.

“It wasn't that difficult to predict that there would be flat tires. If you walk a lap around the course here, you can see the stones lying around,” said Van der Poel, who had two flat tires. “What could you do about it? Be careful and inflate your tires, but it still happened to me.”

And so the victory gesture was one in which the sweat was figuratively wiped from his forehead: Van der Poel had to work for it in Maasmechelen. “Those flat tires came at an inconvenient time. It was a fight to the finish.”

“The first flat tire was at the front, and there was still quite a long way to go, so that always takes energy,” explains Van der Poel. “I calculated in my head how many sections I still had to cover. It was still a long way. I wasn't too stressed about the hole, but I did have to fix it.”

He managed to do so, and the Dutchman from Alpecin-Premier Tech was back in the race. “But then I got another one. After that first flat tire, I was extra careful, but it still happened.” Did he panic, knowing he still had to catch up with Thibau Nys, Tibor Del Grosso, and Niels Vandeputte?

“A little. I thought it would be a bit more difficult to get the job done, but I was able to change bikes and immediately tackle the most important section. That allowed me to maintain my lead.”

“Fortunately, I still had time to get back into the race, but if you have another setback, it's over,” said Van der Poel, who was very pleased with his form. “I had a good feeling here and the idea that I could still turn it around if necessary.”

“The hardest victory is still the first one, in Namur,” he reflects after his eleventh victory. “A victory in cyclocross is never easy, but I did take a different approach this season. I do think I'm a lot better now.”

That should lead to the World Championship title in Hulst, Zeeland, next Sunday. “I really want to win that eighth world title and I'm looking forward to it. There's some rain coming and the course in Hulst is one we haven't seen very often.”

Just like Van der Poel is one we haven't seen very often – we repeat, 50 World Cup victories!