Untouchable Mathieu Van der Poel. For his third cyclo-cross of the season, after those of Herentals and Mol, the Dutchman won a third victory. Imperial throughout the eight laps, he was not worried for a single second by Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock. Like this Friday in Mol, the Belgian must be content with second place, 29 seconds behind his historic rival.
Mathieu Van der Poel, world champion jersey on his back, had nevertheless gone very far. Confident of his strength, he calmly overcame his pursuers in the first two laps, before taking the lead in the third and flying away alone to victory. At the end of this third lap, he was already 16 seconds ahead of a group including Wout van Aert. Tom Pidcock, who fell just after the start, was in 10th place, 27 seconds behind the Dutchman.
The rest of the race was just a demonstration for the man who is also world road champion. Comfortable in the sand and mud, whether on his bike or on foot, Van der Poel continued to widen the gap and isolate himself at the front. From the fifth round, his victory was no longer in doubt. He finally eased off in the final loop to take advantage of the still very dense crowd in Antwerp.
Behind, the battle for second place raged. Stuck in the peloton for a while, Wout van Aert finally isolated himself with his compatriot Eli Iserbyt chasing behind Van der Poel. The two men finally spoke on the last lap and it was the power of the Visma-Lease a bike rider that made the difference. Already second yesterday, the Belgian remains the best in the rest of the world. But he is still a long way from Mathieu Van der Poel.
