Today Mathieu van der Poel (BKCP-Powerplus) won the Scheldecross at the St. Anneke Beach in Antwerp, a cyclo-cross race in the Soudal Classics series. "In the last few weeks, I felt that the condition was getting better," he told Het Nieuwsblad.

"I did not really need this victory, but it was obviously a nice one," he added. "This is a course that suited me very well. Before the start, I had the ambition to win. Maybe I was not as good as in Overijse but I felt that I was strong.

"In some passages I could really make a difference compared to the rest and it was evident very early in the race. Taking the race in Mol tomorrow into account, I also did not want to lose too much strength. But I still had to make the first gap and it required some energy. Moreover Laurens Sweeck held on for a long time and therefore I had to keep going.

"Three laps from the end I could finally start to ride at my own pace, control the race, and ride safely. Of course I now also want to win win when "everyone" is at at the start. Now there are still some riders in Spain. But do not underestimate this race. We definitely didn't go slowly. On Sunday, I would like to extend this performance in Mol," he said.