Van der Poel wins DVV Verzekeringen Trofee - Urban Cross

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World champion teases his rivals and then surges to victory

Mathieu van der Poel
Mathieu van der Poel won yet again (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
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Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) gave another display of poise and power in cyclo-cross racing on the new city-centre course of the DVV Verzekeringen Trofee - Urban Cross in Kortrijk, biding his time for 40 minutes of the fast race before surging away to victory.  

His rivals formed a chase pack but could not pull him back, and soon began to race for the placings. Tim Merlier (Creafin-Fristads) got it in a sprint finish, with Toon Aerts (Telenet Baloise Lions) taking third. Both finished 27 seconds behind. 

Eli Iserbyt  (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) was fifth at 30 seconds. 

It was van der Poel's eighth victory of his short but successful cyclo-cross season.

The riders raced nine laps of the long and fast course around the Kortrijk park, with the start and finish on the road bridge over the river Leie, with a twisting bike path offering another switch of rider banks. 

The twisting course included road sections, compact mud tracks, a descent into a sand pit and a muddy section where the riders were forced to run. 

Van der Poel led from the front down the bridge to the roundabout but then preferred to sit on the wheels as a front group formed. 

After two of the laps and 15 minutes of racing, there were still 20 or so riders together, with the high speed and fast surfaces allowing riders to benefit from the slipstreams. 

Bike changes shuffled the group several times but Van der Poel stayed in the pack, giving his Belgian rivals a chance of victory. However, he returned to his true self after 30 minutes of fast racing. He moved up to second place with ease and then surged away on the climb up to the finish line on the road bridge and never looked back. 

Results

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Results
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mathieu Van der Poel (Ned) Corendon - Circus 1:04:14
2Tim Merlier (Bel) Creafin-Fristads 0:00:27
3Toon Aerts (Bel) Telenet Baloise Lions
4Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Telenet Baloise Lions 0:00:28
5Eli Iserbyt (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen – Bingoal 0:00:30
6Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen – Bingoal 0:00:31
7Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Telenet Baloise Lions 0:00:32
8David Van Der Poel (Ned) Corendon - Circus 0:00:48
9Jim Aernouts (Bel) Telenet Baloise Lions 0:00:49
10Tom Meeusen (Bel) Corendon - Circus
11Felipe Orts Lloret (Spa) Cyclo - Cross Team Teika - Gsport - Bh 0:01:30
12Laurens Sweeck (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen – Bingoal 0:01:48
13Jens Adams (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen – Bingoal 0:01:59
14Nicolas Cleppe (Bel) Telenet Baloise Lions 0:02:19
15Thijs Aerts (Bel) Telenet Baloise Lions 0:03:08
16Sieben Wouters (Ned) Creafin – Fristads 0:03:14
17Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Group Hens - Maes Containers 0:03:15
18David Menut (Fra)
19Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen – Bingoal 0:04:08
20Marcel Meisen (Ger) Corendon - Circus 0:04:23
21Braam Merlier (Bel) Creafin – Fristads 0:04:27
22Robin Alderweireld (Bel) 0:05:13
23Mathieu Willemyns (Bel) 0:05:40
24Klaas Groenen (Ned) 0:06:07
25Dario Tielen (Bel)
26Max Judelson (USA)
27Edwin De Wit (Bel)
28Darnell Moore (Irl)
29Jake Womersley (GBr)
30Niels Koyen (Bel)
31Michael Butler (GBr)
32Timothy O'Regan (Irl)
33Oscar Hutchings (GBr)
34Ylber Sefa (Alb)
35Gauthier Heymes (Fra)
DNFRichard Maes (Irl)
DNFBenoit Bomal (Fra)
Stephen Farrand
Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.

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