After an anything but flawless start – Van der Poel came off his pedal and was hampered by a crash from Tim Pidcock – the Dutchman recovered in a great way. At the start of the third lap, he already had a sixteen-second lead over the group of chasers, including his eternal rival Wout van Aert.
Van der Poel’s lead then continued to grow, which quickly made it clear that he would also be unbeatable in Antwerp. At the start of the eighth and final lap, the gap on his nearest opponent Van Aert was no less than 38 seconds.
Even in the last round, Van der Poel did not flinch and rode unthreatened to his third victory of the season. Van Aert won the battle for silver against his Belgian compatriot Eli Iserbyt. He finished almost half a minute behind Van der Poel. Joris Nieuwenhuis was the second Dutchman to cross the line. He came fifth. Pidcock finished eighth.
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“I clicked off my pedal and ended up in the chaos,” Van der Poel looked back on his failed start. “My legs were good though and I didn’t panic. There were a few stretches where I was able to overtake.”
Van der Poel did this impressively and claimed victory with a great display of power. “It’s going well, I can’t complain,” he remained matter-of-fact. “For me it is now mainly important to stay healthy and get through the Christmas period as best as possible.”
Van Empel rode away from her competitors in the fourth of six laps along the beach of Sint-Anneke on the Scheldt. Lucinda Brand finished second at 18 seconds. Puck Pieterse took third place, ensuring an entirely Dutch podium.
Classification leader Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado finished fourth, but has a wide lead in the standings. The tenth World Cup Cross of the season will follow on Boxing Day in Gavere, also in Belgium.
Van Empel, who missed a number of World Cup races, returned to Herentals last week after a training camp that did not go smoothly due to a fall and a cold. It did not prevent her from winning the cross to win the X2O Trophy and a week later in Antwerp to once again demonstrate her superiority. “I was driving with confidence again. I could certainly make a difference by jumping over the beams.”