The second of five cyclo-cross duels between Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) this season ended in victory again for the Dutchman at the X2O Trofee Hofstade, with the seven-time world champion opening up a gap on the third lap and extending it all the way to the finish.
Van Aert was second on Monday's race, but will no doubt rue a crash on the second lap after choosing an alternate route around a corner from his long-term rival and sliding out. Having been sat in his wheel at the moment he went down, Van Aert was forced to chase down Van der Poel for the entire 58 minutes of racing, but never remade contact.
"It was really nice. It's one of the few races I remember as a kid coming to watch the professionals, so it's nice to be back here with a cyclo-cross race," said Van der Poel after his latest victory, before explaining how he got away.
"It was just the way it went. I think the sand makes it really difficult to stick together. If someone else makes a mistake, it's easy to open up a gap, and that's what happened.
"On a fast course like this, it's good to be in my own rhythm, and I found it really quickly and felt really good today, so I'm happy."
The closest to following the world champion was Thibau Nys, who got himself onto the wheel on the second lap, but ultimately couldn't match Van der Poel's skills in the sand, losing contact before being caught and quickly passed by a charging Van Aert.
Van Aert's disadvantage was eked by Van der Poel's excellence out from 17 seconds to 31 seconds between the end of lap three and lap six, and – despite the Belgian's best efforts – by the end of all nine laps it was 48 seconds.
"It was a good start. I chose the right side of the field to pass. Then, on the first lap, I needed to get into my rhythm, but then I made a mistake myself and was a bit held up," said Van Aert. "So by the time I came to the front, Mathieu was already leading, but halfway through the race, I found my legs and did a decent effort.
Once he knew the victory was out of sight, Van Aert did have a chance to take in the 17,000-strong crowd who came out to see the two titans of the sport in action. Hofstade made its big return to the CX calendar on Monday after 17 years out of the competition.
"Let's say the last three laps, when I knew I couldn't come back to Mathieu, I had a certain rhythm where I was suffering a lot on the beach, but the other part of the course, I could find an easier pace, then I could enjoy the cheers and the noise everywhere. I'm 31 years old, but it's still pretty insane to experience that."
Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took third after a great fight with Nys behind the two stars of the discipline, with two big crashes for the latter in the sand sections seeing him fade in the sprint for the final podium finish.
Overall X2O Trofee series leader Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley) finished sixth on the day, behind sand expert Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) and ahead of Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens) after they all shared the lead at times on the opening lap.
Nieuwenhuis maintains his lead after four rounds at 30 seconds from British CX champion Cameron Mason (Seven) and 38 seconds ahead of Nys.
The next meeting between Van der Poel and Van Aert will come in a week's time at the next round of the X2O Trofee series in Loenhout. With his best performance yet, Van Aert will be hoping he can iron out the mistakes and really challenge his long-term rival once again.
Results
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