Van der Poel cruises to victory in Ethias Cross Bredene

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) put his rainbow jersey on display with another solo victory, this time at the Ethias Cross in Bredene, where he rode away from Toon Aerts (Telenet-Baloise) midway through the race to win with relative ease.

Aerts held on for second, having lost contact on lap five after puncturing, while Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) came in a distant third over Gianni Vermeersch.

Curtis White (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld) got the hole shot after a quick start off the front row, but it was a short lived time in the lead as Van der Poel, Gianni Vermeersch (Credishop-Fristads), Aerts and Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) came to the fore.

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By the end of the third lap, Vanthourenhout was left behind by the leading trio after sliding out in one of the many slippery off-camber rises, while Vermeersch lost touch on the next lap, leaving Aerts and Van der Poel in the lead.

A puncture for Aerts gave Van der Poel all the gap he needed to cruise to victory after the halfway point.

Aerts held on for the runner-up spot over Vanthourenhout, whose brother Diether was racing in his final 'cross event before retirement.