In an electrifying race at the Hoogerheide World Cup this Sunday, Mathieu van der Poel had to fight for victory. The victory was not easy for the world champion. His turning point was on the penultimate lap, where he had to exert all his efforts to beat Thibau Nys.
Mathieu Van der Poel secured his solo victory in the GP Adrie van der Poel, a race named in honor of his father.
The route to victory
The World Champion remained well positioned, but in no hurry during the start of the race. This approach allowed Vanthourenhout to gradually rise until he fell after a clash with Ryan Kamp. This placed him in 40th position.
However, an elite formed by Eli Iserbyt and van der Poel was at the front with Ronhaar, Nieuwenhuis and Thibau Nys. Nys put extra effort into the race but didn’t make much of an impact. Likewise, Van der Poel carried out an attack in the sixth round, but only Nys could follow him.
Van der Poel on his way to victory
In the penultimate round, Van der Poel made a similar move with an attack at the same moment. It was evident that Nys was struggling to keep up, and when he lost his grip just before the stairs, Van der Poel moved forward. Entering the final round, Van der Poel was ahead of Nys by 8 seconds.
Nys had a minor accident that made him rejoin the chase group. Nieuwenhuis took advantage of the opportunity to take second place, managing to distance himself from the rest of the group. Iserbyt, by finishing fifth, secured his final World Cup victory.
Accumulating victories
This victory marks an important moment in Van der Poel’s career, as he has now accumulated 100 victories in World Cup, Superprestige or X2O Trofee competitions. His first World Cup victory came in 2015, also in Hoogerheide, at the age of 20.
Watch the arrival of the World Champion
Hoogerheide World Cup results
