Cyclingflash
Mathieu van der Poel lets Thibau Nys lead in Gavere but strikes hard in final laps

Mathieu van der Poel lets Thibau Nys lead in Gavere but strikes hard in final laps

Mathieu van der Poel has extended his winning streak in Gavere. The Dutchman stayed mostly on the flat section of the course until he broke away from the strong Thibau Nys two laps from the finish. Tibor Del Grosso finished in third place.

Before the World Cup cross, Van der Poel said it would be a different race than usual. The world champion was referring to the icy surface in Gavere, meaning the race wouldn’t be a typical muddy cross like in other years.

In the early stages, the world champion kept calm, while Tibor Del Grosso and Thibau Nys opened the throttle early and were followed by Michael Vanthourenhout, Emiel Verstrynge, Van der Poel, and later the strong Mees Hendrikx. After three laps, the gap to sixth, seventh, and eighth—Cameron Mason, Toon Aerts, and Joran Wyseure—was still manageable (+10 seconds), but they never caught sight of the race leaders.

Midway through the race, three riders managed to break away. Led by the eager Nys, the Belgian champion, Verstrynge, and Van der Poel pulled ahead of the rest. Was the podium already set?

Strong Nys can keep pace with Van der Poel for a long time
No, because at the end of the sixth lap Del Grosso, Vanthourenhout, and Verstrynge caught back up. It had become clear that Van der Poel and Nys were the strongest riders in the race. At the end of the sixth lap, the two definitively broke away following a sharp attack from the Belgian champion. In the final laps, the race even began to resemble a duel.

In the end, Van der Poel would still take the win. After a slip by Nys, Van der Poel pulled away halfway through the seventh lap and quickly extended his lead to about fifteen seconds. The world champion then comfortably maintained his advantage over the last two laps, securing the top two podium spots.

Behind Nys and Van der Poel, Del Grosso, Verstrynge, Aerts, and Vanthourenhout battled for third place. Del Grosso managed to win this fierce fight and joined Van der Poel and Nys on the podium.