Cycling: “Being friends with Wout? That would be very difficult”

During a discussion with Geraint Thomas for the 2018 Tour winner’s podcast, The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club, Mathieu Van der Poel returned to his relationship with the two other tenors of the classics, Wout Van Aert and Remco Evenepoel. With frankness and honesty, the world champion explained why he would have difficulty being friends with the former.

Sometime ago, Mathieu Van der Poel had admitted to being closer to Remco Evenepoelwith whom he sometimes shares training outings as well as Wout Van Aert, with whom the relationship is colder. On the occasion of an issue of the podcast of Geraint Thomas, The Geraint Thomas Cycling Clubwhere he was invited, Mathieu Van der Poel returned to the subject, answering questions from the winner of the 2018 Tour, who has just extended his contract for two years with the Team Ineos Grenadiers.

“I can more easily be friends with Remco”

In comments reported by the website of the Belgian daily The last hour, Van der Poel notably declared: “ With Wout, we have been fighting against each other for a long time. In cyclo-cross, then on the road, we have been pulling ourselves up for more than ten years now. When I have to beat Wout, I know that I have to be at 110% of my possibilities. We have a lot of respect for each other “. Digging into the subject, Geraint Thomas then asked if it seemed possible to him to one day become friends with the Belgian champion of Jumbo Visma. Response from Mathieu Van der Poel : « It would be very difficult to be friends with such a rival. I can more easily be with someone like Remco, because our fields and our programs are not really the same. I could not have the same relationship with Wout as with Remco ».

“A meal together? That would be weird”

Et Mathieu Van der Poel to launch as a definitive conclusion: “ Wout is more of a rival than a friend, but we have a good relationship as long as we respect each other a lot. Have a meal together? It would be weird, but we can save that for our post-career ».

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