Mathieu van der Poel became cyclocross world champion again in Hoogerheide on Sunday afternoon. The all-rounder on the bike trumped his eternal rival Wout van Aert in the final sprint. It is already the fifth world title for Van der Poel.
A titanic battle between Van der Poel and Van Aert was expected in advance. And that is exactly what the tens of thousands of enthusiastic spectators were presented with.
Only Dutchman Lars van der Haar was allowed to briefly lead from the start. But after three minutes ‘VDP’ gave it a gasp and drove away from the rest together with Van Aert.
Pinpricks
From that moment on, the game image hardly changed. The two eternal competitors barely let go of each other’s wheel with 25 seconds behind them ‘the best of the rest’.
Yet it never got boring. The two toppers took turns handing out pinpricks. For example, Van der Poel flew several times more smoothly over the decimeter high beams than Van Aert. But he, in turn, was able to quickly make up for the damage. That way, the two did not lose sight of each other on the sun-drenched course.
Exciting until the end
With the finish in sight, the tension mounted and the duo chose position. Van der Poel was in the wheel with Van Aert and was the first to start the sprint. He took a few meters ahead, which were unbridgeable for Van Aert.
With the win in Hoogerheide, Van der Poel already took his fifth cyclo-cross world title. Van Aert got stuck on three rainbow jerseys because of his second place.
Fem van Empel
With the gold of Van der Poel, he completed the Brabant cyclocross party in Hoogerheide. On Saturday, Fem van Empel from Den Dungen already won the women’s world title. The 20-year-old rider rode solo for a long time and crowned that performance with victory.