Mathieu van der Poel easily won his fourth cyclo-cross in four races this winter, this Friday in Loenhout (Belgium) despite the entry into the running of his great rival Wout Van Aert, only fourth.
Since last Sunday, the Dutchman has had a string of successes at Zonhoven, Mol and Gavere, in the absence of the Belgian, who was forced to delay the start of the season while recovering from an illness.
His presence has changed nothing in the overwhelming domination of Van der Poel. The world champion quickly took off on the very muddy terrain of Loenhout and offered himself a new solo rider, in front of a large Belgian public forced to once again witness the supremacy of its neighbor.
Van der Poel won in just over 58 minutes with around fifteen seconds ahead of the Belgians Thibau Nys et Laurens Sweeck and 36 seconds on Van Aert. Already left behind, the latter definitively lost contact on the second lap by sliding in a turn, while he had the bike on his shoulder. Another technical error sent him to the ground again on the last lap, while he had moved up to second place.
Van der Poel had himself suffered a small scare the previous lap when he fell after hitting an advertising barrier in a corner, but he was able to restart without damage.
The Dutchman, 29, plans to contest eleven races before trying to win the World Championshipon February 2 in Liévin, in Pas-de-Calais. His next outing is scheduled for Sunday in Besançon in a cyclo-cross counting for the World Cup.
