Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) made it four for four in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, fending off a brilliant effort by Belgian Champion Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions) before soloing to the win in Gavere.
Nys made one mistake on the third to last lap and it was game over, but he did enough to finish second. Tibor del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) out-sprinted Toon Aerts for the final podium spot.
Until Nys lost his balance and unclipped on lap seven of nine, he looked almost Van der Poel's equal, attacking numerous times on the steep climb midway through the circuit and distancing all of their other rivals.
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But when Van der Poel is in a cyclo-cross race, there is no room for error. Even with a relaxed final lap, the World Champion finished 21 seconds up on Nys, while the aggressive battle for third saw Del Grosso sprinting in two seconds behind.
"I just didn't want to have any regrets after the race," Nys said of his aggressive racing. "I just did my own thing and I felt immediately that Mathieu was not giving in and he was still quite comfortable. I did what I had to and I'm happy with second place.
"The lap Mathieu went all in, I unclipped my pedal two times which cost me some momentum. Anyway, I don't think I could have followed Mathieu."
Similarly, Van der Poel said he didn't think he could have dropped Nys.
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"It was quite a difficult race, but I just was trying and looking for the right lines and the good legs, and I found them toward the end of the race. I was just sitting in the wheels a little bit the first half of the race.
"Thibau was really strong today and also technically, he was riding impressive. After we made the gap, I decided to go for one lap and set a fast pace and see if I could get away. I didn't think it was possible to drop him but I saw he made a mistake in the wheel and I had the gap."
How it unfolded
Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions) got off to the fastest start as the sun began to dip toward the horizon in Gavere, but the course was so fast that even the tough climb wasn't enough to break up the race for the first three laps.
Tibor del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) followed Nys closely as his teammate Mathieu van der Poel wove his way through the field to the front by the end of the opening lap.
Soon, an elite group began to form, with Emiel Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon), Del Grosso, Nys, Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez) and Van der Poel holding a brisk pace on the second lap. A bit of hesitation allowed Maes Hendrikx (Heizomat-Cube) to bridge across, but not for very long.
The pace let up enough to allow Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens) and Cameron Mason (Seven Racing) to almost make contact, but soon Nys put in a stinging attack on the climb, forcing Van der Poel to pass Del Grosso and jump across.
Behind, Vanthourenhout was fighting for the World Cup lead and he ditched his chasing group to join the leaders. By the end of lap five, he was on the front, leading Van der Poel, Nys and Verstrynge over the line.
Thibau Nys in the lead over Van der Poel on lap 7, just before the Belgian champion made a mistake and lost contact (Image credit: Getty Images)
The lead group swelled as Del Grosso, Aerts and Verstrynge bridged briefly during a lull in the pace. But Nys went on the attack on the ascent again, pulling Van der Poel away and leaving the rest of the chasers behind.
Aerts, Del Grosso, Verstrynge and Vanthourenhout continued to lose time, fading to eight seconds by the end of lap six. With the clock ticking down, Van der Poel moved into the lead while Nys stayed two bike lengths behind.
Nys appeared to be preparing for an attack on the climb, but he got off the line and unclipped from his pedal as he bumped over a root, and lost touch with the world champion, and that was race over.
With two laps to go, Nys was 18 seconds down but still 15 seconds up on the chasing group with Del Grosso, Verstrynge and Aerts. Meanwhile, Van der Poel was sailing away to yet another World Cup victory.
The Dutchman avoided any mistakes on the final lap to extend his winning streak, while Nys held off the chasers to finish second, while Del Grosso attacked the last climb, taking Aerts along with him.
Despite finishing well down in 11th, Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) held onto the World Cup series lead by one point over Van der Poel.
Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
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