Eight Is Great for Mathieu van der Poel as Stunning World Championships History Is Made

Mathieu van der Poel reinforced his reputation as the greatest cyclocross rider of all time on Sunday, speeding to a record eighth victory in the cyclocross world championships with an utterly assured ride.

The Dutchman drew clear with teammate Tibor del Grosso and Belgian rider Thibau Nys on the first of eight laps, then calmly dispatched those two riders one lap later. He powered around the course, shrugging off steep runups that at times forced Nys to stall, and built his advantage lap after lap.

He had 38 seconds at the halfway point and continued to ace the course, drawing further and further ahead. His advantage over a chasing Nys grew to 44 seconds two laps from the end but the Belgian made a couple of errors and was passed by Del Grosso, who ultimately finished 35 seconds back.

Nys was third at 46 seconds, with Joris Nieuwenhuis (Netherlands) a further nine seconds adrift.

Van der Poel had a minute’s advantage at the bell but backed off to soak up the atmosphere of what he has hinted may be his last-ever CX worlds ride.

“It is very special,” the smiling, mud-speckled rider said after the race. “I said it last week already that when I started cycling the dream was to become world champion one day in the elite category. Now to have the most titles of all time is incredible.”

His win moves him ahead of the Belgian Erik de Vlaeminck, who took his seven victories between 1966 and 1973. Van der Poel equaled that tally at last year’s worlds, and set the target of going one better again.

Things may have been tighter had big rival Wout van Aert not been injured but Van der Poel kept working very hard even after the Belgian confirmed an ankle fracture meant wouldn’t be able to take part.

He hoped to be in his season-best form on Sunday, but admitted he might have been slightly sharper seven days ago.

“I think maybe last weekend I felt a bit better, a bit stronger, but also this course was completely different,” he said. “I really tried to manage my bike, my tires and everything as good as possible to be a sure a mechanical didn’t ruin the party.

“I did what I had to do and I am really happy that it all worked out.”

Inspired by Ronaldo

All eyes were on Van der Poel at the start, with a flawless 13-race winning streak this winter following on from another undefeated run a year previously.

Van Aert’s absence removed the biggest chance of an upset, but the clear race favorite still had to avoid punctures, crashes and the longshot of an off day.

He appeared to falter slightly at the start, being overtaken by several riders, but almost immediately moved up into second slot behind Del Grosso.

Nys was close by and with Del Grosso driving the pace, the trio forged a full 18 seconds ahead by the end of lap one.

Van der Poel gapped his two companions nine minutes after the start when he rode a steep run-up. That helped him open an advantage of ten seconds by the end of that lap, and he further boosted that to 38 seconds by the end of lap four.

Del Grosso and Nys were already thinking of the battle for silver and the Belgian initially appeared the stronger, gapping the Dutchman before the planks on lap six. He had a fourth second lead beginning lap seven but made an error on a steep ramp, having to put his foot down and enabling Del Grosso to get back up to him.

The advantage swung from then, with his rival proving stronger and moving ahead. A tiring Nys once again had to put his foot down on a steep ramp on the final lap, drifting further back and being destined for bronze.

Van der Poel had a minute’s lead at the bell but decided to back right off near the end, making an extravagant celebration 35 seconds before his teammate raced in for silver.

It was a more animated victory gesture than usual, something he said came from the world of football.

“In Spain we do a lot of town sign sprints and a lot of different celebrations,” he explained. “The Siuu from Ronaldo is one of the most used, so I thought it was the right moment to pull one.”

Given the enormity of what he achieved with his eighth worlds win, the timing certainly was appropriate.

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