I’m still finding my voice on this blog and I wanted to take a serious approach to cycling here. But that may change as I’m injecting my more of my personality into the posts… so buckle up yall.

Photo: Sprint Cycling Academy

So Mathieu Van Der Poel just won his sixth Cyclocross title and may be done with the sport professionally.

After his win in Tabor this weekend, he said, “Apart from the world title and the fun, there is not much left for me to gain in cyclocross. My focus is increasingly shifting to the road.” And I for one am here for it. VDP had a lead on the 2nd and 3rd from the first lap. He ended up winning with such a margin that it almost doesn’t make watching fun anymore. And if I’m waking up at 5am in the morning on a Sunday, there’s going to be drama and intrigue in the race! Not some Dutch guy taking laps around a course by himself. Since Wout Van Aert has been focusing more on the road there has been little to no competition for MVDP and has made Elite Men’s cyclocross almost too boring to watch. Fem Van Empl is getting dangerously close to doing the same thing in Women’s Elite, but I don’t think she’s at the same level above her competition as MDVP. But it’s close.

Mathieu go figure out how to race in a Grand Tour. On the road, you’re like Thibeau Pinot with fewer fans and goats. But this isn’t just to bash him and his road racing career. I’m just happy that the cyclocross field will be a lot more competitive and more fun to watch. If Wout and Pids aren’t going to focus on the CX season than what’s the point of MDVP just winning every race? Why am I watching that?

That being said… Wout vs MDVP battling it out in the Spring Classics is gonna be hella fun! The CS skillset really helps in those races, and that’s where we’re going to see the two titans do their battle!