Mathieu van der Poel has also added his name to the roll of honour of the 'revived' Hofstade sand cross. The world champion initially tolerated the company of Thibau Nys, but soon broke away from the Belgian and soloed to a new victory in the race. Wout van Aert capped off a strong cross with second place, while Niels Vandeputte finished third.
In Antwerp, a duel between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert – despite high expectations – did not materialize, but on Monday we likely witnessed the first real confrontation between the two best cyclo-cross racers of the past decade. At the Sport Vlaanderen domain of Hofstade, the two heavyweights faced off once again in a race that returned after a seventeen-year absence.
The riders were once again set for a sand cross. Or, as course designer Erwin Vervecken himself described it: "You can describe Hofstade as a mix of a fairly fast initial section, followed by two beach stretches along the shores of Hofstademeer, alternating with two technical sections in the forest, over a mountain bike trail with very minor elevation changes."
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2007 |  Sven Nys |
| 2006 | Erwin Vervecken |
| 2005 | Sven Nys |
| 2004 | Sven Nys |
| 2003 | Sven Nys |
| 2002 |  Richard Groenendaal |
| 2001 | Mario De Clercq |
Van der Poel waits for his moment
The start went without incident. The big guns – Van der Poel and Van Aert leading the pack – did not miss their start. Laurens Sweeck was also alert, and the Belgian sand specialist saw his chance to set the pace. Top favorite Van der Poel observed everything from the front row in the opening minutes, but came into his own in the second lap when he decided to push the pace for the first time.
🚵🇧🇪 | Stunning footage! The stylist Mathieu van der Poel blasts across the Hofstade beach while Thibau Nys gives it his all to keep up. 🤩
📺 Stream cyclo-cross on HBO Max! pic.twitter.com/2hQZzdI28G
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) December 22, 2025
Suddenly, it was all hands on deck among his rivals, but only one rider proved capable of keeping pace with the world champion: Thibau Nys. Cross fans eagerly anticipated a scenario like the one in Namur, where Van der Poel only took control in the final lap, but the Dutchman clearly had other plans. With some impressive sand sections, he mercilessly dropped Nys from his wheel.
Mathieu van der Poel was once again dominant - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Van Aert tries, but must concede to several
The Belgian champion clearly had to back off and was soon swallowed up by... Van Aert. The Visma | Lease Bike rider had also started to ramp up his effort but was already twenty seconds behind after three laps. This proved an insurmountable gap, as Van der Poel showed no signs of fading. On the contrary, the leader was now truly unleashed, steadily increasing his lead over Van Aert and the rest.
Van der Poel doubled his advantage to half a minute in the fourth lap, dashing any last hopes for an exciting battle. Van Aert, meanwhile, secured a comfortable margin over the third-placed Sweeck. The top two places seemed decided, but the fight for the final podium spot was far from over. Sweeck felt the hot breath of Nys and Niels Vandeputte close behind him.
Nys appeared to have the upper hand after a fierce battle, but was overtaken at the last moment by Vandeputte, who crossed the line third. However, this was at a respectful distance and in the shadow of Van der Poel, who – despite an incident involving a vaping spectator – won convincingly ahead of Van Aert.
X²O Badkamers Trofee - Hofstade Plage Cross| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 58:53 | |
| 2 | + 48 | |
| 3 | + 01:02 | |
| 4 | + 01:03 | |
| 5 | + 01:05 | |
| 6 | + 01:07 | |
| 7 | + 01:11 | |
| 8 | + 01:13 | |
| 9 | + 01:56 | |
| 10 | + 02:09 |
| Rank | Rider | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joris Nieuwenhuis | 06:02:27 | |
| 2 |  Cameron Mason | 06:05:19 | |
| 3 | (1) | Niels Vandeputte | 06:07:02 |
| 4 | Thibau Nys | 06:07:13 | |
| 5 | Toon Aerts | 06:08:08 | |
| 6 | (3) | Mathieu van der Poel | 06:11:07 |
| 7 | (1) | Toon Vandebosch | 06:12:01 |
| 8 | (1) | Lars van der Haar | 06:13:26 |
| 9 | (2) | Ryan Kamp | 06:14:31 |
| 10 | (2) | Laurens Sweeck | 06:14:49 |
