Yesterday Mathieu van der Poel proved that it is no wonder that the talented Dutchman is a double junior cyclo-cross world champion and added the road title at this year's race in Florence. In his first year as a U23 rider and his first race against the elite riders, the youngster finished 2nd behind Niels Albert in the Scheldecross and earned much recognition as one of the future stars of the sport.

Two years in a row, Mathieu van der Poel simply dominated the junior cyclo-cross scene and ended both seasons on a high by winning the Worlds title. This year he has moved up to the U23 ranks and while he has faced significantly harder competition, he has taken several wins in his year against the older riders.

In yesterday's Scheldecross, the son of  Adri van der Poel, a cyclo-cross world champion as well as winner of both the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and grandson of Raymond Poulidor, Vuelta a Espana champion and perennial Tour de France podium finisher, got his first chance to ride against the likes of Sven Nys, Niels Albert and Klaas Vantornout. And the youngster showed that he doesn't lack to be able to beat the best riders in the world when he finished 2nd behind the dominant Albert.

Van der Poel started in the third row but gradually moved up to the front. He missed the move when Albert, Philipp Walsleben and Rob Peeters made the decisive escape but kept his pace so high that he managed to take pass the latter two and take 2nd behind his teammate Albert.

“Obviously, I’m very happy with second place,” he said after the race. “Even before I had made it into the top ten, I felt from the outset that my legs were very good. Starting in the third line, I didn’t have much trouble driving to the head of the race. 

“After Nys was out, I was able to ride up to Rob Peeters and Philipp Walsleben, but by that time, Albert was gone. But it was a very nice experience.”

Albert even considered waiting for his teammate but decided not to do so. Instead, he pointed back at van der Poel when he crossed the line.

"When I heard that Mathieu rode alone in the chase I briefly considered waiting," said Albert. "But relative to the organisation and my other teammates that would not have been correct."

"I'm glad he didn't wait," van der Poel said."If I win a race then I want to fully win."

Another youngster Wout Van Aert was almost equally impressive. In the Jaarmarktcross a few weeks ago, he had finished 2nd behind Nys and today he was 7th despite missing much of his team's training camp in Mallorca due to a cold and despite crashing on the final lap.

“I had to wait and see what would happen today,” he admitted. “If you can’t ride your bike as often, you don’t know how you will react but it was not too bad. I was able to accomplish a good hour.

“When I got stuck facing the heavy winds, it got a little difficult, so I tried to put it in other wheels,” he added. “I had the intention of going into the final lap trying to get a better place, but I failed due to the fall in the sand. But I’m satisfied. It was easier than I expected.”