Wout van Aert continued the Belgian domination shown in yesterday's junior race when he took a hugely dominant win in the U23 race. Riding away from his rivals after less than 5 minutes, he extended his advantage throughout the entire race, putting 50 seconds into compatriot Michael Vanthourenhout, while the other big favourite Mathieu van der Poel saved an otherwise disastrous day by taking bronze as the only non-Belgian rider in the top 5.

 

The U23 men's race at the Cyclo-Cross World Championships was expected to be a big duel between the two riders that have dominated the category for the entire season. With the best rider from the dominant Belgian team Wout van Aerts going up against local hero, two-time junior world champion and World Cup winner Mathieu van der Poel, the race was also expected to be another fierce contest between Belgium and the Netherlands.

 

However, the expected duel never materialized as one rider was simply in a class of his own. Having briefly left the front to teammate Toon Aerts, van Aert launched his attack already at the halfway point of the first lap and immediately put daylight into his nearest rivals.

 

As he crossed the line for the first time, van Aert already had a 19-second gap over his nearest chasers, 1 5-rider group which was made up entirely of Dutchmen and Belgians. From there, it was a one-man show, with van Aert extending his advantage on all of the 6 laps.

 

Meanwhile, van der Poel had a disastrous day and already on the opening lap it was clear that the rider who had been so strong all season was not his usual self. He clearly struggled to keep up with his compatriots Mike Teunissen and Stan Godrie as they tried to pace him back to the front of the race.

 

With the Ducthmen struggling, the Belgians took control as Michael Vanthourenhout saw an opportunity to go for silver. The Belgian rode most of the race on his own in second position and comfortably secured another 1-2 for the Belgians.

 

It was almost another clean sweep of the podium for Belgium who achieved the feat in yesterday's junior race as Laurens Sweeck got clear on his own. He was later joined by Aerts, making it four Belgians in the top 4 positions.

 

However, van der Poel showed his class and great morale when he put his disappointment aside and went all in in the battle for bronze. On the final lap, he passed the two Belgians to take the final spot on the podium and become the only non-Belgian rider in the top 5.

 

The day, though, belonged to van Aert who had difficulties coming to terms with the fact that he had beaten van der Poel in the most important race.

 

"I went in the first lap," he said in the post-race interview. "Every lap my gap grew. It is unbelievable. Three weeks ago I was out of the Belgian champs due to a false start. Now I am world champion.

 

"Van der Poel was the big favourite. I beat him. It is unbelievable to do it here," he added before praising the performance of the Belgian team. "We are the best country at this world championships. I am extremely proud of the team today."

 

The World Championships continue later today with the highly anticipated battle between the elite men.

 

Aerts hits the front

The riders were very eager to get the most important race of the season off to the best possible start and some of them were probably  a bit overexcited as a few of them hit the deck during the opening sprint, holding up a few of their rivals. Up ahead, it was Toon Aerts (Belgium) who came out with all guns blazing, opening a gap right from the beginning.

 

The first 6 positions were occupied by three Belgians and three Dutchmen as defending champion Mike Teunissen (the Netherlands) was leading the chase of Aerts. The big favourite Mathieu van der Poel had got a solid start and was riding in 4th place.

 

Van Aert launches his attack

Aerts was brought back after 4 minutes of racing and his move was immediately countered by his compatriot and the other big favourite Wout van Aert. Riding very aggressively, he quickly opened up a big gap while his big rival van der Poel was apparently struggling a bit, having fallen back into 7th place.

 

When van Aert crossed the line for the first time, he was already 19 seconds ahead of a 5-rider chase group consisting of his compatriots Aerts and Michael Vanthourenhout and Dutchmen Stan Godrie, Teunissen and van der Poel. The Belgians were leaving all the chase work to the Dutchmen, with Godrie and Teunissen swapping turns on the front as they tried to set van der Poel up for the win.

 

Van der Poels tries to respond

As they started the second lap, van der Poel realized that the gap to his biggest rival was probably a bit too big. He took over the pace-setting in the chase group which started to split up under the pressure.

 

Van der Poel was now going hard and Aerts was the only rider who was able to keep up with him. As he slowed down a bit, however, more riders rejoined from behind, with Vanthourenthout, Godrie and Belgian Laurens Sweeck all bridging the gap.

 

Vanthourenhout goes for silver

Van der Poel was apparently not at a good ride and he had no response when Vanthourenhout launched an attack. The Belgian quickly opened a big gap, making it a 1-2 for the dominant nation at the front of the race.

 

Van Aert was still looking strong when he crossed the line at the end of the second lap and had now extended his gap over Vanthourenhout to an impressive 30 seconds. Godrie, van der Poels, Sweeck and Aerts were next, a massive 44 seconds behind. It was followed by another 5-rider group 9 seconds further behind, led across the first rider not from either Belgium or the Netherlands, David Menut (France).

 

Van der Poel in difficulty

Van Aert and Vanthourenhout were clearly the strongest riders and they constantly put more times into their chasers. Meanwhile, it now became apparent that van der Poel was far from his usual level when the Dutchman could not even keep up with the chase group and fell back to the next one.

 

Instead, the Belgians started to sense that they had another clean sweep of the podium within reach after their impressive display of power in yesterday's junior race. With the gold and silver medal apparently secured, Sweeck allowed himself to move to the front to tighten the screws in the chase group a bit more.

 

Belgian 1-2-3

Sweeck quickly put daylight between him and his former companions, meaning that it was now a 1-2-3 for the Belgians. Behind, van der Poel had recovered a bit and had made it back up to Aerts and Godrie but the trio was constantly losing ground.

 

When van Aert crossed the line at the halfway point, his gap had been extended even more and was now 34 seconds ahead of Vanthourenhout. Sweeck was 56 seconds behind while the three chasers van der Poel, Godrie and Aerts were at 1.01. David van der Poel was about to bridge the gap, ready to offer his brother a hand in his attempt to at least medal in his home race.

 

Aerts goes for bronze

Aerts saw that his Dutch companions were starting to tire after doing so much chase work and on the fourth lap he saw his chance to go for bronze. In a short acceleration, he bridged across to Sweeck, making it four Belgians in the first four positions.

 

Van Aert crossed the line to start the penultimate with an even bigger advantage as it had now come up to 37 seconds. Vanthourenhout appeared to have his silver medal secured as he was 35 seconds ahead of Aerts and Sweeck. David van der Poel had closed the gap to the chase group and even left his brother behind, crossing the line in 5th at 1.24. Mathieu was 5 seconds further behind while Godrie had faded back.

 

Crash for van der Poel

With the two first places being secured, all the excitement was now on the battle for bronze. Meanwhile, the Dutch public had their eyes on local hero van der Poel who was about to post his poorest result of the entire season.

 

David van der Poel hit the deck in a muddy section and was again passed by his brother who got back into the top 5. A little further up the circuit, Aerts made a small mistake, allowing Sweeck to open a small gap in the battle for bronze.

 

Van der Poel senses an opportunity

Mathieu van der Poel had now recovered a bit and was not gradually getting closer to the Sweeck and Aerts who had again joined forces. The Dutch public were again sensing that a home medal could be within grasp after a disastrous race.

 

Van Aert crossed the line to start the final lap with a 45-second gap, meaning he had again increased his advantage on the penultimate lap. As they passed the site of the finish, van der Poel had rejoined Sweeck and Aerts but the trio but was 1.29 back. There was daylight back to the rider in 6th, with David van der Poel having disappeared completely due to his crash.

 

Van der Poel attacks

Van der Poel took a short breather at the back of the group but as soon as they left the tarmac he hit the front, trying to exploit his momentum. As he decided to enter the pits for a bike change, he again allowed Sweeck to hit the front.

 

Halfway through the lap, van der Poel again hit the front as he tried to apply the pressure for a last time. His acceleration was enough to put Sweeck into difficulty and just a few seconds later Aerts also lost contact.

 

Van der Poel secures bronze

Van der Poel quickly put daylight into his bronze medal rivals, clearly having the upper hand. By now, it was only a matter of staying safe and he would have secured a medal on an otherwise disastrous day.

 

That was little consolation though as his archrival van Aert was now powering towards the line for a very impressive win in the race that matters the most. He hit the finishing straight with plenty of time to celebrate his win, giving high-fives to the public and breaking a big smile.

 

Vanthourenhout made it a great day for the Belgians by taking silver, 50 seconds behind, while van der Poel looked back to make sure that the bronze medal was his, holding off Sweeck - who banged the handlebar in frustration - and Aerts. David van der Poel recovered from his crash to take 6th while David Menut was the first rider from outside the Benelux countries in 7th.

 

Result:

1. Wout van Aert 49.35

2. Michael Vanthourenhout +0.50

3. Mathieu van der Poel +1.17

4. Laurens Sweeck +1.20

5. Toon Aerts +1.26

6. David van der Poel +2.09

7. David Menut +2.24

8. Tomas Paprtska +2.37

9. Gert-Jan Bosman +2.38

10. Gianni Vermeersch +2.45