UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Zonhoven: Undefeated Mathieu van der Poel claims another victory in flawless performance as Thibau Nys is ruled out after crash

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) has been undefeated during his cyclo-cross season, claiming a ninth consecutive victory after a flawless performance at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in freezing conditions in Zonhoven, Belgium, on Sunday.

"It was not the plan, but I just had a really good start. I wanted to do one hour of my own thing, especially in these circumstances. Before going back to Spain, it was nice to go one hour full gas," Van der Poel said, also noting that he did not need to panic after a flat tyre saw him take a new bike mid-race.

"I already had a big advantage. I was in a good flow and a good rhythm, and it broke my rhythm a little bit, and I lost some time. It hurt the legs because it was a long stretch to ride on a flat tyre, but I never panicked because I felt I had a good day today.

It was 1-2 for Alpecin-Premier Tech as Tibor del Grosso stole away from the chase group on the penultimate lap to claim the runner-up spot on the podium 45 seconds behind his teammate, with Emiel Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon) taking third on the day.

It was an unlucky day for Thibau Nys (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions), who crashed on the fourth lap, going over the course fencing and breaking the right side of his handlebars. Although he got back into the race, he lost valuable time and finished 19th at 3:22 back.

Van der Poel moved into the lead of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup standings after winning five rounds and now has 200 points, and Nys remains in second place with 190 points.

The previous leader, Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon), was unable to start the race after sustaining an injury in a crash at the X20 Trofee event in Loenhout last week and has dropped to third place in the standings.

How it unfolded

The field lined up under freezing conditions and through hard-packed snow for the ninth round of the 12-race UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Zonhoven, Belgium, without the rankings leader Laurens Sweeck.

Van der Poel led the field into the circuit, navigating the unyielding lines through the frozen mud and sand pit and up the flyover in a flawless display of strength and skill on the opening lap.

European Champion Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens CX Team) was quick to follow but was unable to completely close the gap to the World Champion, racing about five seconds off the pace but ahead of a long line of contenders further back that included Emiel Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon), runner-up in the series, Nys, Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley), Del Grosso and Lars van der Haar (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions).

Van der Poel had noted the challenges the riders might face due to the frozen conditions in a pre-race interview, highlighting that he felt the sand pit would present the most difficulty, but he orbited the circuit without error, building his lead even further at the start of the third lap.

Thirty seconds back, Verstrynge led the chase group of five through the finishing straight with Del Grosso, Nys, Aerts and Vandeputte on his wheel, as Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) appeared to struggle to reconnect with them.

Del Grosso had a slight gap, racing in second place behind his teammate, but a crash saw him hit the ground, and while he was quickly back on his bike, his rivals in the chase group regained contact with him.

An untimely crash saw Nys lose control through the hard-packed snow and ice, hit the course post and flip over the fencing into the crowd.

He climbed back over the fence and appeared uninjured, but his right handlebar drop had snapped off. He attempted to ride to the pits but was then forced to run with his broken bike over his shoulder. By the time he made it to the pits, he had already lost too much time, but he took a new bike and continued the race.

Up front, Van der Poel started lap six 32 seconds clear of Verstrynge and Del Grosso, with Aerts, Vandeputte and Vanthourenhout 50 seconds off the back. Del Grosso continued to apply pressure until he cleared Verstrynge by a few seconds at the start of the penultimate lap.

As Van der Poel crossed the line with his ninth season win in a row, his teammate sealed second place for Alpecin-Premier Tech, and Verstrynge hung on for third ahead of a sprint for fourth won by Vandeputte.

Results

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