Mathieu van der Poel Dominates in Hulst to Claim Historic Eighth World Title Cyclocross
Mathieu van der Poel fully lived up to his favorite status at the Cyclo-cross World Championships. In Hulst, he broke away early in the race from Tibor del Grosso and Thibau Nys, who would finish second and third respectively. It was the eighth time in his professional career that MVDP became cyclo-cross world champion. A record.
Van der Poel was the overwhelming favorite, with the main outsiders being Tibor Del Grosso and Thibau Nys. This became clear right from the start. The three were the first to enter the course and immediately separated from the rest. Initially, Del Grosso led, but after three and a half minutes, Van der Poel took over. The defending champion pushed hard for a moment, causing Nys to fall behind. Del Grosso was still able to keep pace.
Before the end of the opening lap, however, Nys came back. In fact, he immediately moved up to second place, behind Van der Poel. Would we get an exciting battle for the rainbow jersey after all? That was still uncertain. MVDP soon extended his lead again, now ahead of both Nys and Del Grosso. By the end of the second lap, the gap was ten seconds.
Van der Poel extends his lead, who will be second?
In the third of eight laps, Van der Poel further increased his lead over Nys and Del Grosso. The gap was now 29 seconds. Meanwhile, Nys and Del Grosso were almost half a minute ahead of a large third group that included Joris Nieuwenhuis, Mees Hendrikx, Lars van der Haar, Toon Aerts, Michael Vanthourenhout, Jente Michels, Gerben Kuypers, Felipe Fontana, and Felipe Orts. Absent in this peloton was Niels Vandeputte, who was having an off day.
In the following laps, there were no major developments. Van der Poel remained the lone leader upfront, behind him we watched the duo Del Grosso-Nys, and for fourth place they kept close watch on each other, although Van der Haar and Hendrikx were struggling.
Van der Poel claims his eighth
Del Grosso also struggled in the sixth lap. He stretched his back several times and had to leave a gap behind Nys. With two laps to go, the difference between the Belgian and the Dutchman was four seconds. In the seventh lap—when it began to rain lightly—Del Grosso closed the gap again.
Meanwhile, Van der Poel had already started the final lap. His world title was no longer in danger. Well before the finish line, he was assured of victory. Thanks to this win, he now stands alone as the record holder for most world titles in cyclo-cross: until today, he was tied with Eric De Vlaeminck, who won the World Championships seven times.
Del Grosso versus Nys
A good minute behind Van der Poel, Del Grosso and Nys battled for second place. Del Grosso gained a few meters, but Nys came back once more. On a steep climb, where Nys had struggled several times before, a gap opened again between the two. This time, Del Grosso did not allow his rival to return.
