Even in Kaç, on the sun-drenched Turkish shores of the Mediterranean, Tibor Del Grosso was asked by the local press about his potential to fill the shoes of teammate Mathieu van der Poel. There are a few parallels between the Paris-Roubaix winner and Del Grosso, who claimed his first pro victory on Monday at the Presidential Tour of Turkey.
"I get compared a lot with Mathieu van der Poel, being from the same team and the same country, and maybe a similar type of rider," Del Grosso answered, "but I don't like to compare myself with other riders and especially a rider like Mathieu. People forget how special of a rider he is. He's out of this world. I'd love to come close to being as good as he is but I don't know if a new Van der Poel exists."
