Imperial, Mathieu van der Poel flew over the cyclo-cross event in Besançon this Sunday. The Dutch prodigy signs a third success this winter in the World Cup and confirms his status as big favorite. But the fight for the general classification remains undecided…
Mud, cold, rain… Nothing seems to be able to stop Mathieu van der Poel this season. The Dutch phenomenon once again dominated the debates during the 8th round of the Cyclo-cross World Cup held this Sunday in Besançon, in Doubs. Solo winner with a comfortable margin over his pursuers, “VDP” has already won his third success of the winter in the competition.
A show of force
From the first pedal strokes, Mathieu van der Poel set an infernal pace, immediately putting his opponents in difficulty on a course made slippery and technical by the precipitation. After a great start, the grandson of Raymond Poulidor quickly made a gap, relegating his main rivals to more than 30 seconds at mid-race. Managing his lead perfectly, the leader of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team then rolled out to claim a victory acquired in style.
Vanthourenhout limite la casse
Behind the untouchable van der Poel, the battle raged for the runners-up. Victim of a fall in the first lap, the Belgian Michael Vanthourenhout, leader of the World Cup, managed to limit the damage by taking 7th place. He thus retains his white leader's jersey by 8 small points ahead of his compatriot Eli Iserbyt. On the podium, we find two other Belgians: Toon Aerts, second at 38 seconds, and Niels Vandeputte, third at 48 seconds from the winner of the day.
I am happy with my race. I had good feelings and I was able to tell the difference quite quickly. This bodes well for the rest of the season.
Mathieu van der Poel on arrival
Meet in Zonhoven
With this new convincing success, Mathieu van der Poel confirms his current excellent form and asserts himself a little more as the big favorite for the final general classification of the World Cup. But the competition does not intend to give up, like the Belgian duo Vanthourenhout-Iserbyt who intend to defend their position dearly. The 9th of the 14 rounds on the program will be held on Sunday January 8 in Zonhoven in Belgium. The duel at the top between van der Poel and the elite of world cyclo-cross promises to be exciting once again.
The reactions
- Toon Aerts (2nd) : “I am satisfied with my second place. When van der Poel is on a big day like today, he is almost unbeatable. I tried to keep up but he was too strong. I'm happy to be on the podium. »
- Niels Vandeputte (3rd) : “The course was really difficult and technical. I managed my race well, securing my position on the podium. Finishing third behind van der Poel and Aerts is a very good result. »
The main lessons
- Mathieu van der Poel is the big favorite for the general classification of the World Cup. His victory in Besançon, his third of the winter, places him ideally.
- Michael Vanthourenhout limits the damage and retains the leader's white jersey for a few points. But the Belgian knows that each poor performance could cost him dearly.
- The fight for the final podium looks uncertain, with strong competition led by Eli Iserbyt, Toon Aerts and Lars van der Haar.
After an intense month of December, cyclo-cross will observe a short break before returning to competition at the beginning of January. The opportunity for the champions to take a breather, but also to prepare for a second part of the season which promises to be exciting. With their sights set on the world championships scheduled for the end of the month in the Netherlands, on the land of Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman will be keen to shine in front of his audience. His adversaries have been warned.
