Mathieu van der Poel remains unbeaten this cyclocross season. The Dutchman won the GP Sven Nys in Baal on New Year's Day, securing his seventh victory of the winter. Initially, however, he faced some resistance from Emiel Verstrynge and there was also a crash.
"I got a bit off track and couldn’t get back on. Then you fall to the ground," Van der Poel said in the flash interview afterwards about his slip. After that fall, he quickly caught back up with Verstrynge, about whom he had praise. "He was strong. I think he had a very good day. He kept up well afterwards too. That was impressive."
Van der Poel and Verstrynge know each other well. They are teammates on the road at Alpecin-Premier Tech. Did they exchange any words during the race? "Not much was said. I don’t think that’s necessary. I did the Tour with Emiel. He’s a nice young rider with a lot of talent. That showed again today."
Van der Poel also said that the conditions in Baal suited him. "It was finally a bit muddy. Until now, all races were very fast because of the nice weather. Fortunately, we had some rain today, so the course changed, but I enjoyed that. It was slippery and technical. It’s a circuit I really like riding. Today I definitely had fun."
New duel with Van Aert
On Friday, Van der Poel faces his second cross of 2026. He will compete in Mol, where he will meet Wout van Aert among others. The 30-year-old world champion expects to have enough time to recover, partly because the cold in Baal was milder than expected. "I felt very good in terms of temperature. I thought it would be colder, but it wasn’t too bad. These days, I’m usually a bit better in the second race than the first. Maybe it’s because of age. Hopefully, that will be the case again tomorrow."
X²O Badkamers Trofee - GP Sven Nys| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 59:04 | |
| 2 | + 37 | |
| 3 | + 01:16 | |
| 4 | + 01:24 | |
| 5 | + 01:26 | |
| 6 | + 01:59 | |
| 7 | + 02:27 | |
| 8 | + 02:38 | |
| 9 | + 02:46 | |
| 10 | + 03:03 |
