Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) came out on top in a battle of the 'big three' at the UCI World Cup in Gavere to take his third win of the season.
"I just really wanted to win. Like I said in Mol [second place – Ed.] I wasn't really satisfied. I was determined to do a good result today," Van der Poel said after his win.
"I think a lot of factors. I think this course is really hard and also technical. I think for me at least it was a pretty nice race. I enjoyed it, lots of people, and I'm happy with my victory."
Van der Poel had hit the front of the race along with Pidcock inside the first two minutes of the race, though it wouldn't be a straightforward win for the Dutchman, even if Van Aert was stuck further back after the start.
"Actually, for me, I never felt like being in the mix for victory today," Van Aert said. "From the start, I was chasing. I was never in the rhythm I wanted to have. I must be happy today with second place. It was the highest possible for me.
"It was still a really nice day out. There were so many crowds, and it was like a World Championships atmosphere. Even though the legs weren’t really responding from the beginning, I still fought because of the fans and yeah, it was a really nice ’cross race."
He and Pidcock made their way into the lead two spots through the opening lap, while Van Aert eventually battled his way through the pack into third place. But early on lap two, it was Pidcock solo in the lead after Van der Poel suffered a puncture.
The Briton enjoyed a 10-second lead heading into lap three as Van der Poel and Van Aert co-operated in the chase. He wouldn't be racing off into the distance, though, as his decision to ride up the mid-lap hill while his rivals ran saw him shed time and – on the third lap – lose his lead as the two chasers caught back up.
"I'm maybe a little bit disappointed," Pidcock said after the race. "It was a very heavy race. The last few laps I really felt it, especially during the running sections. I was struggling to clip back in afterwards. Just not strong enough, really.
When asked if he thought he could win, Pidcock said the thought crossed his mind when he caught Van der Poel.
"But then, like I said, on the running sections, my bike was getting heavier and heavier every lap. It felt like I was carrying a car on my shoulder. I wish my bike had an engine, like a car. In the last few laps, my legs fell off a bit."
It wasn't long before Van der Poel was out in front on his own again, the former four-time world champion edging away from Van Aert and Pidcock to go solo.
At the start of lap four of six, Van der Poel was 15 seconds up the road, though the chasing pair were able to close to within a handful of seconds as they looked to set up a big, late battle for the win.
Pidcock did manage to make it across briefly, though Van der Poel discovered a second wind late on to distance both him and Van Aert for good. Pidcock faded late to cede second place to Van Aert, while outside the 'big three' battle it was Michael Vanthourenhout (Pawels Sauzen-Bingoal) who was best of the rest, albeit almost two minutes down.
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