Mathieu van der Poel took another victory at the Kasteelcross in Zonnebeke. Aftr a long solo ride, the world champion arrived with a big advantage over on Rob Peeters and Diether Sweeck.

For the first time in weeks, the riders were confronted with a heavy mud course in Zonnebeke. That inspired Klaas Vantornout to get his usual quick start, but not much later, two-time winner Rob Peeters took over. The duo was joined by Diether Sweeck, Thijs van Amerongen, Mathieu van der Poel and Sven Nys, but this group did not stay together for long. Sweeck attacked but his rivals did not react.

It was Mathieu van der Poel that first started the pursuit. With his speed, he approached the lone leader but he also rode the other chases off the wheel. Only Nys - who followed fifteen seconds being after 20 minutes of racing - seemed to resist until he got a mechanical. Nys was unable to ride minutes and even seemed forced to abandon. However, he chose to jump on the bike and still get a thorough workout.

Another important consequence of Nys' mechanical, was that world champion Van der Poel's lead grew quickly. At the halfway point, Klaas Vantornout was the nearest chaser, more than a minute behind the Dutchman, and thus the victory seemed to be decided. Van der Poel would hold onto his lead without too much trouble, partly because Vantornout almost stopped completely. In the penultimate lap, he was caught by Rob Peeters, Jan Denuwelaere and Diether Sweeck and was immediately left behind.

Rob Peeters and Diether Sweeck took the minor places on the podium, far behind winner Mathieu van der Poel. Nys was seventh after a long chase.

Wout van Aert and Lars van der Haar skipped the race to prepare for tomorrow's World Cup race in Lignières-en-Berry.

Result

1.  Mathieu van der Poel (BKCP-Corendon)
2.  Rob Peeters (Crelan-Vastgoedservice)
3.  Diether Sweeck (ERA-Murprotec)
4.  Jan Denuwelaere (Crelan-Vastgoedservice)
5.  Klaas Vantornout (Marlux-Napoleon Games)
6.  Joeri Adams (Crelan-Vastgoedservice)
7.  Sven Nys (Crelan AA Drink)
8.  Berne Vankeirsbilck (Elite-2)
9.  Thijs van Amerongen (Telenet-Fidea)
10.  Vinnie Braet (Superano Ham-Isorex)