Matthieu Van der Poel wins Super Prestige Gieten(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mathieu Van Der Poel (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Laurens Sweeck on the Gieten podium(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Laurens Sweeck leads the bunch into the sand(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Laurens Sweeck makes his way through the sand(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Laurens Sweeck leads Mathieu van der Poel(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Wout van Aert(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Laurens Sweeck(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The beach in Gieten(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Lars van der Haar(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dieter Vanthourenhout(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mathieu Van Der Poel wins the Superprestige in Gieten(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The first round of the Superprestige in Gieten(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Kevin Pauwels could only manage seventh(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Meeusen(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jens Adams(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Laurens Sweeck finished third(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Lars Van Der Haar took fourth(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
World champion Wout Van Aert (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mathieu Van Der Poel(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Michael Boros(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Rob Peeters(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dieter Vanthourenhout in action(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The podium at the Superprestige in Gieten(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mathieu Van Der Poel wins the Superprestige in Gieten(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The podium at the Superprestige in Gieten(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Matthieu Van der Poel en route to winning Super Prestige Gieten(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank-Correndon) won the opening round of the Superprestige in Gieten, after a scintillating show of pace in the final laps of the race. His main rival, current World Champion Wout Van Aert (Crelan-Charles), finished second, 15 seconds back, while third place went to a strong Laurens Sweeck (Era-Circus) at 27 seconds.
The Dutchman had started the race aggressively, leading from the gun and enjoying a slim four-second lead during the opening laps of the race. Van Aert, who had slipped in the first corner, lay in wait among the chasers, eventually bringing back van der Poel on lap three.
Laurens Sweeck, in fine form after his victory Neerpelt on Saturday, took charge of the race on lap four as the lead group swelled to around 10 riders. The Belgian was a mainstay on the front for much of the race, making a lead group on lap five that included van der Poel, Van Aert and Lars van der Haar (Telenet-Fidea Lions).
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At that point of the race the gap to a chase group including Kevin Pauwels (Marlux-Napoleon Games) looked decisive, and it was clear that the lead four would contest the victory. Van der Poel spent his time looking comfortable in second wheel behind Sweeck, save for the Belgian's lakeside attack on lap six.
Meanwhile, Van Aert got into some minor trouble, having to unclip on a tight muddy corner on lap seven. Nonetheless, he looked in much better shape than he had during the American World Cup openers, where he had finished seventh and 14th.
It was no surprise, though, that the winner in Iowa City and Waterloo would end up victorious here too. After his armchair ride for the mid-part of the race, van der Poel turned on the afterburners on lap eight. The 22-year-old accelerated on the start-finish straight, quickly dispatching Sweeck and van der Haar.
Van Aert couldn't live with the pace either but kept within sight of van der Poel, hanging a handful of seconds back. Having been kept honest for most of the race, it wasn't quite the domination that many had expected from the Beo-bank man but come the final lap he was out of sight, just waiting to celebrate his third victory at Gieten in four years.
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
