There were tears and words of appreciation for his sport from long-standing top cyclo-cross racer Lars van der Haar, when he managed to complete the last World Championships of his career on Sunday – as well as some nerves about an ongoing family situation.
Despite hurting his knee during the race, Van der Haar finished 19th, clearly delighted to be able to celebrate compatriot Mathieu van der Poel, who took a record-breaking eighth title on home soil.
A former double U23 World Champion and four-time podium finisher in the elite men's event, as well as a double winner of the European Championships, Van der Haar is now close to the end of a career that has seen him win 43 races.
Known for his well-honed technical skills and powerful accelerations, he kicked off his pro career back in 2013 with a bang when he took back-to-back World Cup wins in Valkenburg and Tabor, the first two of nine.
In his last ever World Championships, as he told reporters later, the 34-year-old Dutchman's wife is shortly due to give birth, and Van der Haar said that he had been prepared to abandon had he seen a pre-agreed sign appear amongst the spectators should he need to head for the family home immediately.
"My wife is waiting at home," Van der Haar said in comments reported by Het Laatste Nieuws. "With our first daughter, things happened very quickly and I would have dropped out of the race. We had a red towel for that."
"If I had seen it fluttering, I would have quit."
The imminent arrival of Van der Haar's second child meant he had not slept much, and he did not even head to the race itself until Sunday morning, HLN reported.
He got off to a good start, but then bumped his knee, and his chances of staying with riders fighting for fourth place evaporated.
"I've never had so much pain in my knee. It was the end of the race. If the pain had stayed, I wouldn't have made it to the finish. I couldn't ride anymore, but luckily the pain went away after half a lap," he said.
At the finish, Van der Haar was in tears, saying, "It's just a beautiful sport. I enjoyed it so much.
"It's just so wonderful to ride for your own country. To see everyone perform, to be at their best here, to see Mathieu win his eighth world title."
Referring to the setbacks in his last race, he said, "In the end, I didn't enjoy it, but maybe I should have enjoyed it more. As a top athlete, you still want to achieve a result."
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