He's probably used to that though, as his girlfriend is British.Echoes said:Van der Haar is a Dutchie winning in the Netherlands and he's got to accept a whole post-race interview in English !!!
I would've felt like a foreigner in my own country. What a world !
Meh, cultural difference between the Netherlands and Belgium is bigger than most people think.Echoes said:Belgium was still the best nation today in terms of depth (poor Denuwelaere paid the price for it - thanks the UCI and their globalization that does not work!) and I love the 'so far' while we are still in autumn, lol. Let us wait for the real muddy winter races.
By the way, Belgium and the Netherlands, it's about the same country ! Besides Walsy is a half Belgian now.![]()
well, lil Lars beat Pauwels this year, so I think hes getting stronger. Walsleben was going pretty well in the RR season imo, he could surprise CX wise this year.Maaaaaaaarten said:Meh, cultural difference between the Netherlands and Belgium is bigger than most people think.
I'm afraid my avatar is also half a Belgian, or more like a Belgian with a Dutch pasport.
Also, you're right that my 'so far' is extremely presumptuous, because most of the big crosses we've had were very fast so far, which is Van Der Haar's forte and also he obviously peaked for these first couple of big crosses which suite him. When he get the sand and the mud and maybe the snow comes, Nys and Albert will surely be up there again, with Van Der Haar behind them. You could see it in Ronse, that these Belgians are much better at the harder slow races.
Just enjoying it while it lasts.![]()
That does not mean a lot because as a matter of fact Walsleben has always done very well in the road seasons while it's the first time that he's doing so well in the early cyclocross season (usually he's good by the end of it). As Wuyts said it's all relative but he's a 'climber' among the cyclocrossers.Dazed and Confused said:Walsleben was going pretty well in the RR season imo, he could surprise CX wise this year.
I, as a Dutchmen, living in Leuven, completely agree about 1830.Echoes said:I, as a Walloon living in Brussels and with Flemish roots, do solemnly claim that Belgians and Dutchies are the heirs of the old Burgondian Low Countries. The bourgeois Revolution of 1830 was a mistake.
Mathieu is a Dutchman speaking the Campine dialect(and with family roots in the Limousin).
He really seems like a very good guy to me, from every point of view. And if he's as much a fanatic as his father was (read Wuyts' comments on that) or as he's grandpa was, he can get very far.
I'm following his performances since the novice category, I think I brought some of results back then on these boards.
It's weird because in my old 'Dutch civilization' classes at uni I was taught that modesty was a Dutch cultural trait "Trots op onze bescheidenheid" (Proud of our modesty). Though it's also how Hollanders would stamp Limburgers, I guess.Maaaaaaaarten said:But despite the fact that they speak my native language in Leuven the cultural difference is a bit more significant than I'd expect. Belgians are a bit more modest I guess; you can see it in CX when you compare the Belgians to Boom. To a lesser extent you can see it in Van Der Haar as well I guess, who seems to be pretty 'confident'. You can call Dutch people either more direct or more rude depending on whether you like this cultural trait.![]()
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