Mathieu van der Poel has also won his seventh cyclocross of this season. Despite a small crash on the fourth lap, he was supreme in Baal and defeated Emiel Verstrynge by 37 seconds.
Among the women, Lucinda Brand won her thirteenth cross in a row. The 36-year-old rider broke away early in Belgium and eventually won with a 12-second lead over Puck Pieterse, who was never really able to make things difficult for Brand after a slip on the stairs. Brand was on stage for the sixtieth time in a row.
The last time Brand missed the podium was also the last time Van der Poel lost a cross: the Benidorm World Cup in 2024, almost two years ago. There Brand finished fourth and Van der Poel – after a fall – fifth.
Yet it seemed for a while that Van der Poel was having a difficult day in Baal. The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider accelerated in the second lap and released everyone, but was surprisingly taken back by the 23-year-old Belgian Verstrynge. He brutally took over the lead when Van der Poel crashed and damaged his rainbow jersey.
