Like last year, Mathieu van der Poel won the Druivencross in Overijse after the misfortune that hit him hard in Essen yesterday. The Dutchman rode in the lead from start to finish and finished almost a minute ahead of Wout van Aert.

Van der Poel: I wanted revenge

"Whether I am the moral winner of this weekend? Well, I do not know, "Mathieu van der Poel told Het Nieuwsblad after his victory. "Wout won on Saturday, but I' had bad luck and could not defend my chances. Today I wanted revenge and I am proud of this win. I won with a nice gap and have rode the frustration of Saturday out of my body.”

Van der Poel had a blistering start. 

"I immediately wanted to take control of the race," he said, "but the plan was not to ride the entire race in the lead. After two laps I felt that I had maybe started too fast so I stepped off the gas a bit. Wout seemed to get closer, but then he made a small mistake and I opened the gap again. I knew I just had to keep riding. A beautiful victory, a beautiful renewed course and a tricky race. Finally, we had a tricky race and here I could really express myself. I am proud of this victory.”

No excuses from Van Avert after big defeat

Wout van Aert had no response to the early acceleration from Mathieu van der Poel and was second, nearly a minute behind the Dutchman. 

"Mathieu was the strongest today," the world champion admitted in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad.

Van Aert crashed during the warm-up. He had a gaping wound on the right knee, but he would not be use it as an excuse. 

"During the race it did not bother me. It was also not because I had the race on Saturday in the legs. I felt better recovered than last week in Mol, but compared to Mathieu I was inferior today. Yesterday I went very deep, while he could get more rest due to the circumstance. Then you are a bit faster at the start of the race. I could feel that. I had hoped for more here, but Mathieu did not want to wait. He flew away immediately and it was soon clear that he was the strongest. He deserved to win here.”

Van Aert attended the medical staff after the race. 

"The dirt is removed from the wound. They have taken care of the wound is taken care of but I have no titches. It was too late, according to them. It's a big wound, but I will not bother me much. We'll see how it goes.”