If Mathieu van der Poel does this with premeditation, then it must be punishable, sighs former world champion and co-commentator Paul Herygers jokingly on the Belgian TV channel Sporza on Sunday afternoon. Not even two of the eight rounds have been completed at the Cyclo-Cross World Cup on the snow-covered course in Zonhoven. The seven-time world champion took the lead from the first meter, and almost immediately the rest were left behind. The outcome can then be quickly predicted: Van der Poel wins, again.
Premeditation? “No, this wasn’t really the plan,” Van der Poel denied after he crossed the finish line cheering with my biceps flexed. Well then, “I immediately started doing my own thing, that’s when I’m at my best.” It was not without reason that he started the cold cross as one of the few riders in shorts. Team boss Christoph Roodhooft admitted at Sporza during the third round that his leader in Zonhoven was ‘dotting the i’s’.
Ninth cyclocross of this season, ninth victory for Van der Poel (30). Winner for the sixth time in the Kuil van Zonhoven, filled with almost 20,000 spectators. An iconic arena, especially when it is snowing, where the cyclo-cross riders plunge down through the loose sand a few times per lap with the fear of death. Just like last season, Van der Poel seems undefeated on his way to the world title. It would be his eighth on Sunday February 1 in Hulst – a record. Doesn’t winning get boring, was asked in an interview afterwards. “Everything is transient,” said the winner in Zonhoven. “The older I get, the more I enjoy it.”
Hellish snowdrifts
Three days earlier, the world of cyclocross seemed to look different. Heroic image, as Wout van Aert in hellish snowdrifts put the fire to Van der Poel in an old-fashioned way at the Zilvermeercross in Mol, Belgium. For the first time since their battle at the 2023 World Championships in Hoogerheide, where the Dutchman narrowly won the sprint. Van Aert struggled with injuries and only returned to his old level in the field this winter. He occasionally rode a faster lap than Van der Poel and even seemed able to win in Mol. Until he slipped in a slippery bend and had to give up, his first ever challenge.
The diagnosis was a fracture in the ankle and surgery immediately followed on Saturday. The leader of Visma-Lease a Bike will no longer be in action this winter and said in the Belgian media that he is already focusing on the road season. “Of course I am very disappointed to have to end my cross season in this way. I felt better and better, also in Mol.”
Van der Poel showed compassion for his ‘favorite opponent’ at the start in Zonhoven. “He has already had so much setbacks, you wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” To then demonstrate once again that the rest of the field is no match for him. The youth dueled for second place at an appropriate distance. The Belgian Thibau Nys (23) slid through the advertising banners halfway through on a slippery stretch and had no chance of a top ranking due to a broken handlebar.
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Dutch talent Tibor Del Grosso crashed hard in the third round and had to change bikes, but recovered well. After some technical feats – in the saddle he climbed a climb where even Van der Poel had to dismount – he finished second at 45 seconds, ahead of the Belgian Emiel Verstrynge.
Almost no one noticed that Van der Poel was struggling with two flat tires at the front. His superior power is so great that even bad luck does not bother him. He fell earlier this season in Namur, Baal and also in Mol. But just as American skater Jordan Stolz ‘just’ qualified for the Winter Olympics despite a fall in the 1,000 meters on Sunday at the selection competitions in Milwaukee, Van der Poel continues to win in the field. Although he did not participate in four of the nine matches, he now leads the World Cup rankings after the win in Zonhoven.
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