History in Hulst. Mathieu van der Poel (31) has nestled at the very top of the cyclo-cross pyramid with a historic 8th world title, one more than Erik De Vlaeminck and his 7 titles. Van der Poel pulled away from Thibau Nys and Tibor Del Grosso in the second lap and raced unthreatened to a fresh rainbow jersey. The silver went to Del Grosso, the bronze ended up in Nys’ basket.
And then there was a new record holder in terms of the number of world titles.
The man who has been undefeated in the field for two years was not surprised today. Mathieu van der Poel is the king of cyclo-cross, he proved that once again today.
Compatriot Tibor Del Grosso was allowed to take charge of the first minutes, but already in the first round it was up to the defending champion.
He didn’t feel much like company. Thibau Nys hung on the longest, but after less than ten minutes Van der Poel had left. It was a ticket without a return flight, because the The Dutchman continued to expand his lead.
Del Grosso and Nys handed out shots, but were mainly concerned with the silver. Meanwhile, Mathieu van der Poel blazed through the sea of people in Hulst.
Mathieu van der Poel is world champion for the eighth time in his career. In the final round he even had time to wave to the many people who descended on the border town. A (temporary) farewell to cyclocross?
Behind it, Nys regularly drove away from Del Grosso, but the Dutchman refused to hang his head. They entered the final lap together, also due to some slip-ups from the Belgian, perhaps due to the wrong choice of tires.
Del Grosso seemed to have more grip and by driving up a steep slope he threw Nys overboard. The Belgian takes bronze at the World Championships for the second year in a row.
Related:
Del Grosso: “Rain might be in my favor”
Number 2 Tibor Del Grosso was very happy with his silver medal. “That was the highest possible today. Mathieu was clearly the strongest, but he didn’t break any minutes. We certainly tried.”
He quickly realized that gold was too high. “From the moment Mathieu drove away, we realized that he was the better one. If he had made another mistake, he could have driven away again.”
Did a better tire choice make a difference? “Earlier in the race we each had our pieces. I was on the limit when he let me go a bit. Then the rain came, which was perhaps a bit in my favor.”
“I was happy that he made a mistake and that I could finish second.”
Cyclocross World Championships results
| position | name | result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Mathieu van der Poel |
1h00’25” |
| 2 |
Tibor Del Grosso |
+35″ |
| 3 |
 Thibau Nys |
+46″ |
| 4 |
Joris Nieuwenhuis |
+55″ |
| 5 | +55″ | |
| 6 |
Gerben Kuypers |
+58″ |
| 7 |
 Felipe Orts |
+1’04” |
| 8 |
Toon Aerts |
+1’04” |
| 9 |
Girl Michels |
+1’04” |
| 10 |
Michael Vanthourenhout |
+1’35” |
Number 8 has arrived for Van der Poel! Nys comes third after Del Grosso
Bronze before Nys
Finished with a jump on the bridge, Del Grosso drives to silver in Hulst. Nys has to make peace with the bronze.
The king of the cross
Mathieu van der Poel dethrones Eric De Vlaeminck with an 8th world title! As expected, there was nothing that could be done about the Dutchman, who led solo for 50 minutes.
The finish is in sight for Van der Poel, who can think of his victory gesture. Del Grosso has to keep going, because Nys refuses to give up.
Not silver but bronze? Nys does not reach the top of the slope, Del Grosso does
Del Grosso away
Ai, Nys might lose the silver here. Del Grosso makes it to the top of the steep slope, Nys does not. Suddenly the gap is wide.
In the pouring rain, Nys has to go deep to follow Del Grosso. Even after almost an hour of racing, the Dutchman is still sitting comfortably on his bike, but can he hold off Nys?
Another 7 minutes and Mathieu van der Poel will be crowned world champion. A minute further, Del Grosso and Nys compete for silver. Behind that, six more men can finish fourth. Enough tension, but not for profit.
It’s raining harder and harder in Hulst and that makes the course slippery. Nys slips for a moment, does he have to change his bike for a different type of tire?
Del Grosso is back
There’s the tough Dutchman again! He closes the gap and continues to challenge Nys for the silver. We get an exciting final round.
Nys has a nice gap on Del Grosso at the start of the penultimate round
Five seconds, that’s how big the lead Nys has over Del Grosso. The Dutchman is not bowing his head yet, but the Belgian seems to have a little more flash in his possession.
Nys is los
Just before the start of the seventh and penultimate lap, Nys drives away from Del Grosso again. The Dutchman is stretching his back and is having some trouble again. He has to make up a few seconds again.
Orts tackles Aerts down
A brief delay among the pursuers. Orts has to get off early on that same steep slope and so Aerts collides with the Spaniard. Everything stays together in that group.
Nys has found a better line on the steep slope that they may or may not be able to climb completely. This time it even goes a little smoother than with Del Grosso. Something to take with you towards the final.
How easy is it to be national coach of Mathieu? “In principle you could do that too”
3 more rounds! Van der Poel lost little time with his substitution, on the contrary. Nys and Del Grosso keep each other in balance at almost three-quarters of an hour.
20 seconds further on, a group follows with Aerts, Nieuwenhuis, Orts, Vanthourenhout, Fontana, Kuypers and Michels. So many Belgians in the top 10!
