VIDEO: Mathieu van der Poel celebrated his eighth world title like Cristiano Ronaldo

VIDEO: Mathieu van der Poel tähistas kaheksandat MM-tiitlit Cristiano Ronaldo kombel

Mathieu van der Poel has become the first cyclist to win eight cyclo-cross world championship titles. The Dutchman, who has remained undefeated for more than two years, finished more than half a minute ahead of teammate Tibor del Grosso and Belgian Thibau Nys at the World Championships held in Hulst.

"It's a pretty special moment," said van der Poel. "When I started cycling, the dream was to one day become world champion in the elite class. Now I hold the most titles – it's incredible. Maybe I felt a bit stronger racing last weekend, but this track was completely different. I tried to take the best care of my bike and tires so that a technical failure wouldn't ruin the party. I did what I had to do, and I'm very happy that everything worked out."

Celebrating his victory at the finish line, van der Poel imitated football star Cristiano Ronaldo. "In Spain, we often use town signs during sprints and try different celebrations," he said. "Cristiano Ronaldo's 'Siuu' is one of the most used. So it felt like the right moment to do it."

The Dutch riders hosting the World Championships performed impressively in front of their home crowd, winning five gold medals: in addition to van der Poel, they took first place in the mixed relay, the elite women's category, and among the under-23 women and junior men.