Van Aert back on top in Zolder World Cup
Van der Poel struggles with mechanical issues, Sweeck, Pauwels on podium
Eleven months after capturing the world title in Heusden-Zolder, Belgian Wout Van Aert (Crelan-Vastgoedservice) returned to the same racing circuit, capturing a tremendous solo victory in the seventh round of the Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup and strengthening his massive overall lead.
"It’s really weird," Van Aert said in the flash interview following his win. "Zolder never used to be my favourite course until I turned world champion here. Now I win for the second time in a year. Clearly it does something with a person; it’s something special."
Van Aert relegated his rivals to a race for second, finishing more than a minute ahead of surprising runner-up Laurens Sweeck (ERA Real Estate-Circus). Kevin Pauwels (Marlux-Napoleon Games) once again finished in third place. Dutch champion Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon) didn’t have a perfect start and ran into mechanical problems, eventually ruining his run for third place and finishing 14th.
The race brings an end to the year-long unbeaten streak in the World Cup for Van der Poel. The win for Van Aert made an end to a series of second place behind his arch rival.
“It pleased me a lot to win again and a bit of show at the finish was allowed. Showing off and then claiming it was by accident isn’t my style,” Van Aert said in the flash interview.
When crossing the finish line Van Aert looked back and indicated there was nobody in sight. The move was a jab at Van der Poel. Three days earlier the latter might have hurt Van Aert’s feelings by taking time for a spectacular jump shortly after distancing the world champion late in the Superprestige round in Diegem.
Van Aert opted to try and avoid taking Van der Poel with him into the final lap. When noticing the Dutch rider had a troubled start Van Aert opened up the gas in front, never looking back. He made no mistakes on the slightly muddy course in Zolder.
"If I tactically ride this way it’s usually my best way of racing. The last few race I’ve been beaten in the final lap and I wanted to play my cards earlier. Of course it wasn’t the goal to be alone that early but I saw Mathieu didn’t get away well and I tried to make it as hard as possible for him," Van Aert said.
Van der Poel got boxed in and nearly rode into Michael Vanthourenhout (Marlux-Napoleon Games) after an early 180 degrees corner. In the chaos he also hit his foot. It cost him a good position early on and forced him to swap shoes in the third lap.
"I took a good start but got forced into the barriers. I really wasn’t happy with that. With all the pushing going on I wrecked my shoe. Once I swapped my shoe I realized that I had to focus for a podium result," Van der Poel told Sporza. When asked who was responsible, Van der Poel said, "I know who did it and I’ll surely remember."
While Van der Poel was being flipper-balled in the peloton, Van Aert surged away with European champion Toon Aerts (Telenet-Fidea), who tried to hold his wheel. Laurens Sweeck quickly went in search of the duo but he was never able to close the gap.
"Gianni Vermeersch lost the wheel and the gap was quickly up to 10 seconds," Sweeck told Sporza. "I briefly came closer but Wout had a good section at the back-end of the course where he opened up the gap again."
After the opening lap Van Aert and Aerts were nine seconds ahead of Sweeck, Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) and Gianni Vermeersch (Steylaerts-Verona). Kevin Pauwels, David van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon) and a well started Lars Boom (Astana). Mathieu van der Poel was in a third group at 21 seconds from the two leaders. During the second lap Van Aert dropped Aerts, with Sweeck riding alone in third place.
Meanwhile, Mathieu van der Poel moved up to fourth place at half a minute from leader Van Aert. At the beginning of the third lap, Van der Poel switched his shoe and that incident threw him out of the top 10. Van Aert didn’t mind. With six laps to go he was a minute ahead of rival Van der Poel. Aerts had a flat tyre, losing his second place to Sweeck.
For Vermeersch, the Christmas races weren’t bringing him much luck. Three days ago in Diegem, he rode for a top five until he broke his derailleur. On Monday, the same mechanical problem happened on a steep off-camber climb. Game over for the Belgian rider.
Halfway through the race, Van Aert was enjoying a very comfortable lead of 45 seconds over Sweeck. Van der Poel gained a lot of positions and popped up in the group that rode for third place at one minute, with Michael Vanthourenhout and Aerts. Pauwels, Meeusen and a fading Boom were ten seconds further back.
In the closing laps, Van Aert kept expanding his lead as he rode flawlessly over the challenging course. Sweeck rode a similar time trial in second place. He profited from the tactical battle for third place that unfolded behind him. The pace in this group often dropped on the long finishing straight, allowing dropped riders to bridge back up.
When hitting the final lap Sweeck trailed Van Aert by just over a minute. Van der Poel, Aerts, Meeusen, Pauwels and Vanthourenhout trailed the leader by nearly two minutes. With a late surge in the final lap Van der Poel was headed for third place but then flatted and sat up.
"It was useless to do the effort. I think third place was mine until I flatted. What was left was too technical and difficult to bother," Van der Poel said. Pauwels was pleased to take over third place from Van der Poel, after holding off Aerts in a close sprint.
"In the end Mathieu was gone but he had a mechanical. I’m often in third place these days but I’m not complaining," Pauwels told Sporza.
In the World Cup standings Van Aert picked up 80 points and extends his lead over Pauwels up to a massive 91 points. Sweeck is ten points further back. The penultimate round of the World Cup will be held on the 15th of January in Fiuggi, Italy.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Wout Van Aert (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice | 1:05:22 |
2 | Laurens Sweeck (Bel) ERA-Circus | 0:01:10 |
3 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games | 0:01:41 |
4 | Toon Aerts (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions | |
5 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions | 0:01:57 |
6 | Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games | 0:02:01 |
7 | Tim Merlier (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice | 0:02:03 |
8 | Jens Adams (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice | |
9 | Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Telenet Fidea Lions | 0:02:21 |
10 | David Van Der Poel (Ned) Beobank-Corendon | 0:02:25 |
11 | Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team | 0:02:28 |
12 | Clement Venturini (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:02:29 |
13 | Michael Boros (Cze) ERA-Circus | 0:02:43 |
14 | Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned) Beobank-Corendon | 0:02:49 |
15 | Marcel Meisen (Ger) Steylaerts-Verona | 0:02:56 |
16 | Daan Soete (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions | 0:03:00 |
17 | Jim Aernouts (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions | 0:03:08 |
18 | Stephen Hyde (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com | 0:03:11 |
19 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Beobank-Corendon | 0:03:37 |
20 | Stan Godrie (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:03:42 |
21 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo Mtb Racing Team | 0:03:56 |
22 | Sascha Weber (Ger) | 0:04:14 |
23 | Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Telenet Fidea Lions | 0:04:17 |
24 | Ismael Esteban Aguando (Spa) | 0:04:21 |
25 | Simon Zahner (Swi) | 0:04:32 |
26 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice | 0:04:33 |
27 | Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) | 0:04:34 |
28 | Steve Chainel (Fra) | 0:04:45 |
29 | Martin Haring (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica | 0:04:47 |
30 | Daan Hoeyberghs (Bel) Beobank-Corendon | 0:04:49 |
31 | Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | 0:05:02 |
32 | Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels | 0:05:20 |
33 | Luca Braidot (Ita) | 0:05:22 |
34 | Alois Falenta (Fra) | 0:05:32 |
35 | Tomas Paprstka (Cze) Expres Cz-Merida Team Kolin | 0:05:43 |
36 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) ERA-Circus | 0:05:47 |
37 | Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Beobank-Corendon | 0:05:55 |
38 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) | 0:05:57 |
39 | Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa) | 0:06:05 |
40 | Melvin Rulliere (Fra) | 0:06:18 |
41 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games | 0:06:35 |
42 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing | |
43 | Lorenzo Samparisi (Ita) | |
44 | Kevin Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | |
45 | Yoann Corbihan (Fra) | |
46 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | |
47 | Kenneth Hansen (Den) | |
48 | Diether Sweeck (Bel) ERA-Circus | |
49 | Anthonin Didier (Fra) | |
50 | Nicolas Samparisi (Ita) | |
51 | Michal Malik (Cze) | |
52 | Daniele Braidot (Ita) | |
53 | Flavien Dassonville (Fra) Hp-Btp Auber 93 | |
54 | Gusty Bausch (Lux) | |
55 | Marvin Schmidt (Ger) | |
56 | Martin Eriksson (Swe) | |
57 | Mark Mcconnell (Can) Hot Sauce Cycling X Garneau | |
58 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Koch Engineering / Muesing Racing Team | |
59 | Pit Schlechter (Lux) Leopard Pro Cycling | |
60 | Scott Thiltges (Lux) | |
61 | Pol Weisgerber (Lux) | |
62 | Daniel Ania Gonzalez (Spa) | |
63 | Philipp Butzow (Lux) |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Wout Van Aert (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice | 450 | pts |
2 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games | 359 | |
3 | Laurens Sweeck (Bel) ERA-Circus | 349 | |
4 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions | 312 | |
5 | Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games | 306 | |
6 | Toon Aerts (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions | 301 | |
7 | Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned) Beobank-Corendon | 277 | |
8 | Tim Merlier (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice | 239 | |
9 | Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Telenet Fidea Lions | 238 | |
10 | Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Team Steylaerts | 212 | |
11 | Jim Aernouts (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions | 206 | |
12 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games | 190 | |
13 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Beobank-Corendon | 185 | |
14 | Marcel Meisen (Ger) Steylaerts-Verona | 181 | |
15 | Daan Soete (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions | 170 | |
16 | Jens Adams (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice | 162 | |
17 | Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Telenet Fidea Lions | 160 | |
18 | David Van Der Poel (Ned) Beobank-Corendon | 159 | |
19 | Stephen Hyde (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com | 148 | |
20 | Michael Boros (Cze) ERA-Circus | 145 | |
21 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice | 141 | |
22 | Daan Hoeyberghs (Bel) Beobank-Corendon | 136 | |
23 | Clement Venturini (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 133 | |
24 | Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Beobank-Corendon | 131 | |
25 | Diether Sweeck (Bel) ERA-Circus | 130 | |
26 | Simon Zahner (Swi) | 129 | |
27 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo Mtb Racing Team | 127 | |
28 | Steve Chainel (Fra) | 125 | |
29 | Stan Godrie (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 125 | |
30 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) | 106 | |
31 | Quinten Hermans (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions | 98 | |
32 | Martin Haring (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica | 88 | |
33 | Sascha Weber (Ger) | 84 | |
34 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) ERA-Circus | 83 | |
35 | Severin Sagesser (Swi) | 82 | |
36 | Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) | 78 | |
37 | Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels | 74 | |
38 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games | 73 | |
39 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 72 | |
40 | Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | 68 | |
41 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing | 63 | |
42 | Ismael Esteban Aguando (Spa) | 61 | |
43 | Jeremy Martin (Can) Focus CX Team Canada | 55 | |
44 | Tobin Ortenblad (USA) Santa Cruz Factory Racing | 53 | |
45 | Alois Falenta (Fra) | 53 | |
46 | Michael Van Den Ham (Can) Garneau - Easton Cycling | 52 | |
47 | Jan Nesvadba (Cze) Expres Cz-Merida Team Kolin | 51 | |
48 | Tomas Paprstka (Cze) Expres Cz-Merida Team Kolin | 49 | |
49 | Kevin Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | 48 | |
50 | Jeremy Powers (USA) Aspire Racing | 45 | |
51 | Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team | 40 | |
52 | Travis Livermon (USA) Maxxis-Shimano Pro Cyclocross | 40 | |
53 | Lukas Winterberg (Swi) | 39 | |
54 | James Driscoll (USA) Raleigh Clement | 39 | |
55 | Anthony Clark (USA) Squid | 38 | |
56 | Dan Timmerman (USA) Stan'S Notubes Elite CX | 37 | |
57 | Kerry Werner (USA) Kona Endurance Team | 37 | |
58 | Francis Mourey (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital Concept | 37 | |
59 | Jonathan Page (USA) Fuji | 34 | |
60 | Jeremy Durrin (USA) Neon Velo Cycling Team | 32 | |
61 | Allen Krughoff (USA) Boulder Cycle Sport/Yogaglo | 32 | |
62 | Twan Van Den Brand (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels | 30 | |
63 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) | 29 | |
64 | Lorenzo Samparisi (Ita) | 29 | |
65 | Melvin Rulliere (Fra) | 28 | |
66 | Craig Richey (Can) Garneau - Easton Cycling | 28 | |
67 | Luca Braidot (Ita) | 27 | |
68 | Justin Lindine (USA) Apex / NBX / Trek | 26 | |
69 | Daniel Summerhill (USA) Maxxis-Shimano | 25 | |
70 | Niels Wubben (Ned) | 22 | |
71 | Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing | 18 | |
72 | Andrew Dillman (USA) Cyclocross Alliance | 16 | |
73 | Hector Fernando Riveros Paez (Col) | 16 | |
74 | Troy Wells (USA) Team Clif Bar | 16 | |
75 | Mark Mcconnell (Can) Hot Sauce Cycling X Garneau | 16 | |
76 | Andreas Moser (Swi) | 16 | |
77 | Curtis White (USA) | 14 | |
78 | Radomir Simunek (Cze) Era Real Estate - Circus | 13 | |
79 | Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa) | 12 | |
80 | Nicolas Samparisi (Ita) | 12 | |
81 | Benjamin Sonntag (Ger) Team Clif Bar | 11 | |
82 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) | 10 | |
83 | Ivan Gicquiau (Fra) | 9 | |
84 | Anthonin Didier (Fra) | 9 | |
85 | Kenneth Hansen (Den) | 9 | |
86 | Daniele Braidot (Ita) | 8 | |
87 | Yannick Gruner (Ger) | 8 | |
88 | Michal Malik (Cze) | 8 | |
89 | Yoann Corbihan (Fra) | 7 | |
90 | Matej Lasak (Cze) | 6 | |
91 | Antonin Marecaille (Fra) AVC Aix En Provence | 6 | |
92 | Jens Vandekinderen (Bel) Kalas-NNOF | 6 | |
93 | Aaron Schooler (Can) Focus CX Team Canada | 6 | |
94 | Felix Drumm (Ger) | 4 | |
95 | Michael Wildhaber (Swi) | 3 | |
96 | Vincent Dias Dos Santos (Lux) | 3 | |
97 | Christian Helmig (Lux) | 3 | |
98 | Max Lindenau (Ger) | 2 | |
99 | Marvin Schmidt (Ger) | 1 | |
100 | Gusty Bausch (Lux) | 1 | |
101 | Yu Takenouchi (Jpn) | 1 |
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