Van der Poel wins elite men's Dutch Cyclo-cross Championships
Van der Haar and Van Kessel complete podium
Mathieu van der Poel notched up his fifth successive Dutch cyclo-cross title by claiming a dominant victory in Huijbergen. The European champion hit the front on the opening lap and never relented thereafter to claim the spoils.
With two laps to go, Van der Poel had a buffer of more than a minute over Corné van Kessel, and he made light work of the driving rain and heavy conditions to seal an emphatic triumph.
Lars van der Haar took second place for the second successive year after he caught and passed Van Kessel at the start of the final lap, but he was unable to make any inroads into the lead of Van der Poel, who was in a race of his own almost from the outset. Van Kessel held on to take the bronze medal.
“The feelings were good today, though not top,” Van der Poel said afterwards, according to NOS. “The circuit here is very difficult and not to be underestimated. The course was also a bit slippery.”
Van der Poel has been the dominant force in cyclo-cross this season, winning the European title, five rounds of the World Cup and six rounds of the Superprestige series. The soon-to-be 24-year-old will be a heavy favourite for the World Championships in Bodense, Denmark on February 3.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned) | 1:07:20 |
2 | Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) | 0:00:44 |
3 | Corne Van Kessel (Ned) | 0:01:53 |
4 | Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) | 0:02:07 |
5 | Stan Godrie (Ned) | 0:02:26 |
6 | Sieben Wouters (Ned) | 0:03:12 |
7 | Gosse Van Der Meer (Ned) | 0:05:31 |
8 | David Van Der Poel (Ned) | 0:05:55 |
9 | Kelvin Bakx (Ned) | 0:06:16 |
10 | Gert-Jan Bosman (Ned) | 0:07:27 |
11 | Jeroen Meijers (Ned) | -2 Laps |
12 | Koen Van Dijke (Ned) | -3 Laps |
13 | Eddy Van Ijzendoorn (Ned) | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Bart Barkhuis (Ned) | -5 Laps |
15 | Bas Van Der Kooij (Ned) | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Max De Jong (Ned) | -7 Laps |
17 | Jeffrey Doornbusch (Ned) | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Aussies on Tour – The 10 Australians flying the flag at the 2025 Tour de France
The return of a strong contingent from the nation with everything from general classification goals to mountain support roles, lead-out duties and stage wins to chase -
Cascade mountains, camping and crazy hard racing - Sofia Gomez Villafañe and Cameron Jones win GC titles at Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder
Mattia de Marchi survived three of the five stages before withdrawing from the 20% bonus scoring event in the Gravel Earth Series -
Gallery: Geraint Thomas' last ever Tour de France race bike
How has the venerable Welshman set up his Pinarello Dogma on the eve of his final Tour de France? -
'A stage win would be amazing' – 18 years since debut, Geraint Thomas eyes final Tour de France hurrah before retirement
Fully recovered from Tour de Suisse crash, Welshman excited as ever for 14th and 'one last big lap' of France