Mathieu van der Poel secured his third consecutive victory in Cyclocross since his return to competitions. The world champion had a tough start at the Antwerp World Cup but quickly surged to the front, distancing himself from all other competitors immediately. Wout van Aert finished second, with Eli Iserbyt in third.
Difficult Start
Van der Poel lost his pedal at the start, and Pidcock fell in the first corner. Van der Poel also got caught up in that fall. The Dutch and British riders were around the 25th position after a minute of the race.
Check out the moment with Van der Poel in the 2nd row:
Recovery by the 3rd lap
In the 3rd lap, however, van der Poel returned to the front of the race. He wasted no time recovering before pulling away, with the world champion accelerating through the sand to take the lead. Once he made his move, van der Poel quickly disappeared from the sight of the other competitors.
In a short time, the Dutchman had over a 20-second lead. Behind the leader, the battle for the second place was intense as a large group was still competing for the finish.
As they entered the final lap, van der Poel’s lead increased to almost a minute, while behind, Eli Iserbyt and Wout van Aert proved to be the best among the remaining competitors. In the end, it was Van Aert who won the race for the second position, with Iserbyt having to settle for the 3rd place on the podium.
Watch the finish of Mathieu Van der Poel:
Complete results of the Antwerp World Cup
