Mathieu van der Poel had an exciting duel with Wout van Aert in the Azencross in Loenhout but when he slid out in the penultimate lap, he had to let his fellow youngster go. "Too bad," the Dutchman told Het Nieuwsblad. "I would have liked to fight with Wout until the end."

Yesterday Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert proved that they are no longer just talented U23 riders. In fact, they are already among the very best at the elite level when they crushed the opposition in the Azencross in Loenhout.

In the end, van der Poel had to let his archrival go and he had to settle for second.

"Last year Wout was superior to me on this kind of circuit. Now I can hold my own against him. It's only a pity that I slid out in the penultimate lap. Wout got a few metres, 10 seconds or so, but I was unable to close the gap. I would have liked to fight it out untilt the end but there are still many races where I will have that opportunity. Ultimately, I am pleased with the result," he told Het Neiuwsblad after the race.