Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) continued his cyclo-cross winning streak with a sixth victory of the season at X2O Trofee Loenhout-Azencross in Loenhout, Belgium, on Monday.
"It's a race that is close to home ... There are a lot of people here, and it's nice to win again," Van der Poel said in a post-race interview.
The reigning World Champion, who has won the race six times, opened a gap on his nearest rival, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), on the fourth of eight laps and went on to take a solo victory.
Van Aert had suffered an untimely rear flat tire on the fourth lap and was forced into the pits for a bike change. He rejoined the race among the large chase group, adding just enough pressure to ride off the front in pursuit of Van der Poel. However, another rear flat forced him back into the pits on the sixth lap, and out of podium contention.
Van der Poel's teammate Niels Vandeputte got a gap on the chase group in the last two laps and crossed the line in second place, while series leader Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley) won a chase-group sprint for third place on the day.
Large crowds lined the Azencross circuit to watch a battle between Van der Poel and Van Aert, both riders suffering some bad luck and incidents at various points during the elite men's race.
Van der Poel unclipped off the start line, and it took him just under a lap to move back up to the front of the large lead group. At the end of that lap, a spectator stuck a hand over the course fencing, causing Van der Poel to bobble on the slippery course, but he otherwise did not lose his position.
"I was very lucky, because I was just able to stay upright. I haven't watched the footage yet, but I didn't feel it was malicious. When people are cheering, they sometimes forget there are riders coming. This can happen," van der Poel said of the incident.
Van Aert put pressure on the front of the race on the third lap, which caused a significant split off the front with Van der Poel in tow. The Belgian kept the pressure on for the entire circuit, heading into lap four when his rival attacked.
As Van der Poel gained a few seconds, Van Aert suffered a flat tire and rode on it until he reached the pits, losing valuable time to the race leader. After rejoining the chase group alongside Vandeputte, Nieuwenhuis and World-Cup leader Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon), Ryan Kamp (Netherlands), Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens CX Team), Gioele Bertolini (Italy), Anton Ferdinande (Belgium), Cameron Mason (Seven) and Yorben Lauryssen (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw), among others, another flat tire on lap 6 meant he was out of contention for a top placing.
Van der Poel continued to gain time on the chase before crossing the line with his sixth win of this season, 46 seconds ahead of his teammate Vandeputte.
Nieuwenhuis continues to lead the X20 Trofee series after five rounds.
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