Mathieu Van Der Pol was dominant in cyclocross during the 2023-24 season, winning eight races. However, his father, Adly, the current world champion in cyclocross and road racing, believes his best is yet to come and that "a few percent" remains for the new road season.

Van der Pol had the best season of his career in 2023 with two monumental wins in Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, winning the Glasgow World Championships road race and the rainbow jersey.

While it will be hard to match this success, his father sees no reason why the cyclocross and road world champion cannot replicate his 2023 form.

Van der Pol started the New Year with a bang, finishing GP Sven Nys 1:55 ahead of his closest rival and longtime rival Wout Van Aert.

"A few percent, I think," Adrie van der Pol told Wieler Fritz about her son's room for improvement.

"He's also still building. Maybe he is improving a little bit more (than his competitors). This guarantees that he has a good foundation and will build on it.

"I think he's going to have a good foundation, especially because training for the road season is completely different.

"On the road he will be able to match last year's level. But of course, there should be no problems. I think he just gained a lot of confidence from last year."

Van der Pol's next big goal is to win his sixth title at the World Cyclocross Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic, on February 4.

No one has come close to matching the Flying Dutchman's strength and technical ability in recent weeks.

Both Wout Van Aert (Visma Lease-a-Bike) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) have competed in the recent Van der Pol competition, but even they had to succumb to the relentless pressure of the world champions within the first few laps of the race.

This season.

So far this season, the "big three" have been rather the "big one."

The back pain that had hampered van der Poel's form in cyclocross the past two seasons seems to have subsided.

"I think that speaks for itself. We knew Mathieu was very good condition-wise. He may not be 100% yet, but the last few percent are the most difficult. In addition, technically he is at a very high level. That also helped me to make the crosses," Adrie van der Pol said.

"How important it is that I no longer have back problems. As a rider, you always feel something. For now, it's not a problem."

Despite his excellent form, van der Pol's only slip in recent performances was a fine for spitting on a spectator who booed and cursed at him on each lap of the course at the Hulst World Cup.

The organizers expressed their disdain for the few misbehaving spectators at the event, as did Adrie van der Poel, who was interviewed by Het Laatste Nieuws and reported by WielerFlits.

"It shows the level of the people we are dealing with here. It's simple. If you don't have the discipline to stop after two beers, stay home," Adrie van der Pol said.

"It's a shame that a few unscrupulous people can ruin an entire cross like this."

Van der Paul will next work with Van Aert and Pidcock in the iconic X2O Trofee cyclocross round in Koksijde on Thursday, before heading to the Sonnhofen World Cup.

He will maintain his 100% win record through the World Cup in February, finishing the cyclocross season with 14 wins in 14 races.