Van der Poel beats Belgian duo on the line

Mathieu Van der Poel won the second round of the World Cup in Koksijde, Belgium. The Dutchman chased Daan Soete (Belgium) and Wout Van Aert (Belgium) for most of the race but thanks to a tremendous last-lap effort he went past the Belgian duo. With his second World Cup win, Van der Poel strengthens his overall lead.

“I had to dig really deep to win this one. I had a really bad start but I felt strong and kept trying,” Van der Poel said. Going into the last lap, Van der Poel still trailed the Belgians by 12 seconds and it seemed that the race was over. “I wasn’t getting any closer anymore. I didn’t go too well through the sand but I managed to ride up a climb where they [Soet and Van Aert] had to run,” Van der Poel explained. “Then they tried to block me but I managed to get around them.” Clearly the Belgians weren’t planning to offer Van der Poel the win on a plate.

The Belgian plan didn’t work out and at the finish line the Belgian duo realized it was a missed opportunity to beat the strong Dutchman. “We worked together to hold him off as we realized he’s stronger,” Soete said. On the final sand section Soete and Van Aert were eventually gapped. “He runs too fast and I was unable to close the gap. It’s not a shame to be beaten by him,” Soete said. Compatriot Van Aert added that Van der Poel didn’t make the difference in the sand. “We were riding well in the sand but we lost a lot on the sections in between,” he said.

Just like the winner, Silvio Herklotz (Germany) bounced back from a lost position as well. Herklotz got away in 35th position but eventually fought back to claim fourth place at almost one minute from Van der Poel. Yorben Van Tichelt (Belgium) was fifth ahead of the duo Romain Seigle (France) and Quentin Jauregui (France). Further back, Andrew Dillman (USA) finished in a decent 17th place on the world championships course of Koksijde.

Van der Poel leads the World Cup with 120 points. Soete (85 points) overtakes Jauregui (78 points) in second place while Van Aert (73 points) is fourth.

Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned) Netherlands0:37:47
2Daan Soete (Bel) Belgium0:00:02
3Wout Van Aert (Bel) BelgiumRow 2 - Cell 2
4Silvio Herklotz (Ger) Germany0:00:59
5Yorben Van Tichelt (Bel) Belgium0:01:04
6Romain Seigle (Fra) FranceRow 5 - Cell 2
7Quentin Jauregui (Fra) France0:01:49
8Daan Hoeyberghs (Bel) Belgium0:01:55
9Matthias Van De Velde (Bel) Belgium0:01:58
10Quinten Hermans (Bel) Belgium0:02:15
11Anthony Turgis (Fra) France0:02:33
12Andri Frischknecht (Swi) Switzerland0:02:37
13Koen Weijers (Ned) Netherlands0:02:48
14Pjotr Van Beek (Ned) Netherlands0:02:55
15Victor Koretzky (Fra) France0:02:59
16Nadir Colledani (Ita) Italy0:03:02
17Andrew Dillman (USA) United States0:03:15
18Dominic Zumstein (Swi) Switzerland0:03:20
19Stan Wijkel (Ned) Netherlands0:03:21
20Ben Boets (Bel) Belgium-BRow 19 - Cell 2
21Nicolas Cleppe (Bel) Belgium-B0:03:26
22Erik Kramer (Ned) Netherlands0:03:33
23Berne Vankeirsbilck (Bel) Belgium-B0:03:34
24Ariesen Tim (Ned) Netherlands0:03:46
25Marco König (Ger) Germany0:03:56
26Gioele Bertolini (Ita) ItalyRow 25 - Cell 2
27Din Van Den Driessche (Bel) Belgium-B0:04:04
28Hugo Robinson (GBr) Great Britain0:04:15
29Karel Pokorny (Cze) Czech Republic0:04:19
30Dominic Grab (Swi) Switzerland0:04:20
31Jelto Veroft (Bel) Belgium-B0:04:35
32Dylan Kowalski (Fra) France0:04:40
33Johannes Siemermann (Ger) GermanyRow 32 - Cell 2
34Michal Paluta (Pol) Poland0:04:42
35Bryan Van Rooyen (Ned) Netherlands0:04:54
36Kevin Suarez Fernandez (Spa) Spain0:04:59
37Max Lindenau (Ger) Germany0:05:04
38Felix Drumm (Ger) Germany0:05:10
39Joseph Moses (GBr) Great Britain0:05:11
40Anthony Chamerat Dumont (Fra) France0:05:27
41Steffen Müller (Ger) Germany0:05:29
42Alexander Welburn (GBr) Great Britain0:05:40
43Braam Merlier (Bel) Belgium-B0:05:45
44Joe Kirkham (GBr) Great Britain0:05:47
45Jiri Rehak (Cze) Czech Republic0:05:53
46Piotr Konwa (Pol) Poland0:06:00
47Federico Zurlo (Ita) Italy0:06:07
48Adam Martin (GBr) Great Britain0:06:16
49Tomas Novacek (Cze) Czech Republic0:06:20
50Lukas Spengler (Swi) Switzerland0:06:27
51Simon Hamann-Larsen (Den) DenmarkRow 50 - Cell 2
52Karel Svrcina (Cze) Czech Republic0:06:41
53Dennis Wahlqvist (Swe) Sweden0:07:03
54Daniel Lukes (Cze) Czech Republic0:07:39
55Simon Vozar (Svk) Slovakia- 1 lap
56Ondrej Glajza (Svk) Slovakia- 1 lap
57Sven Fritsch (Lux) Luxembourg- 1 lap
58Mateusz Grabis (Pol) Poland- 1 lap
59Francesco Pedante (Ita) Italy- 1 lap
60Zygimantas Baikstys (Ltu) Lithuania- 1 lap
61Luis Junquera San Millan (Spa) Spain- 1 lap
62Miroslaw Plotka (Pol) Poland- 1 lap
63David Klein (Lux) Luxembourg- 2 laps
64Lubos Malovec (Svk) Slovakia- 2 laps
65Magnus Skjoth (Den) Denmark- 2 laps
DNFRick Theis (Lux) LuxembourgRow 65 - Cell 2
DNFPeio Olaberria (Spa) SpainRow 66 - Cell 2
DNSSimon Mateju (Cze) Czech RepublicRow 67 - Cell 2

World Cup standings

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned) Netherlands120pts
2Daan Soete (Bel) Belgium85Row 1 - Cell 3
3Quentin Jauregui (Fra) France78Row 2 - Cell 3
4Wout Van Aert (Bel) Belgium73Row 3 - Cell 3
5Daan Hoeyberghs (Bel) Belgium71Row 4 - Cell 3
6Romain Seigle (Fra) France70Row 5 - Cell 3
7Yorben Van Tichelt (Bel) Belgium51Row 6 - Cell 3
8Quinten Hermans (Bel) Belgium44Row 7 - Cell 3
9Matthias Van De Velde (Bel) Belgium41Row 8 - Cell 3
10Pjotr Van Beek (Ned) Netherlands41Row 9 - Cell 3
11Silvio Herklotz (Ger) Germany40Row 10 - Cell 3
12Gioele Bertolini (Ita) Italy35Row 11 - Cell 3
13Marco König (Ger) Germany32Row 12 - Cell 3
14Koen Weijers (Ned) Netherlands32Row 13 - Cell 3
15Nadir Colledani (Ita) Italy30Row 14 - Cell 3
16Anthony Turgis (Fra) France27Row 15 - Cell 3
17Ariesen Tim (Ned) Netherlands26Row 16 - Cell 3
18Hugo Robinson (GBr) GreatBritain23Row 17 - Cell 3
19Andri Frischknecht (Swi) Switzerland19Row 18 - Cell 3
20Jan Brezna (Cze) Czech Republic18Row 19 - Cell 3
21Victor Koretzky (Fra) France16Row 20 - Cell 3
22Andrew Dillman (USA) United States14Row 21 - Cell 3
23Dominic Zumstein (Swi) Switzerland13Row 22 - Cell 3
24Simon Mateju (Cze) Czech Republic13Row 23 - Cell 3
25Stan Wijkel (Ned) Netherlands12Row 24 - Cell 3
26Stefano Valdrighi (Ita) Italy12Row 25 - Cell 3
27Ben Boets (Bel) Belgium11Row 26 - Cell 3
28Yannick Gruner (Ger) Germany11Row 27 - Cell 3
29Nicolas Cleppe (Bel) Belgium10Row 28 - Cell 3
30Daniel Lukes (Cze) Czech Republic10Row 29 - Cell 3
31Karel Pokorny (Cze) Czech Republic10Row 30 - Cell 3
32Erik Kramer (Ned) Netherlands9Row 31 - Cell 3
33Tomas Novacek (Cze) Czech Republic9Row 32 - Cell 3
34Berne Vankeirsbilck (Bel) Belgium8Row 33 - Cell 3
35Michal Paluta (Pol) Poland6Row 34 - Cell 3
36Riccardo Redaelli (Ita) Italy5Row 35 - Cell 3
37Din Van Den Driessche (Bel) Belgium4Row 36 - Cell 3
38Stefano Debellis (Ita) Italy4Row 37 - Cell 3
39Steffen Müller (Ger) Germany3Row 38 - Cell 3
40Francesco Pedante (Ita) Italy2Row 39 - Cell 3
41Dominic Grab (Swi) Switzerland1Row 40 - Cell 3
42Lubos Malovec (Svk) Slovakia1Row 41 - Cell 3

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