CyclocrossMathieu van der Poel closed 2020 with a victory in the Ethias Cross of Bredene. The world champion won the honorary prize Paul Herygers before Toon Aerts and Michael Vanthourenhout. Wout van Aert, who beat Van der Poel on Sunday in Dendermonde, did not participate.
Curtis White surprisingly took the lead, but the American was soon called to order. The two favorites, Van der Poel and Aerts, quickly took over command. Vermeersch also joined later.
For really long, however, the West Flemish could not participate in the front. Aerts and Van der Poel kept the pace high – just a bit too high for Vermeersch. The leader of Telenet Baloise Lions made a great impression.
Puncture
But when Van der Poel took over command, Aerts had to leave the role anyway. From the saddle, the world champion boosted the pace and the gap with his pursuer kept getting bigger. The fact that he punctured in the front did not help the group of Sven Nys.
Aerts did not give in, but Van der Poel’s gap grew steadily. Technically, the world champion remained almost flawless and he was also spared bad luck. The victory could therefore no longer escape him. The gap with Aerts was in the end a minute.
Aerts rode to second place in his last cross of the year, Vanthourenhout was third on the podium. The day after tomorrow it will be cross again, the GP Sven Nys in Baal.
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