Mathieu van der Poel won the Scheldecross title in Antwerp with a great show of strength. The Dutch multi-skilled won his first duel this winter against Wout van Aert with force majeure after an attack in the second round. He rode the last six laps solo in the lead.
Van Aert, who returned with the cross, crossed the line in second place, 23 seconds behind Van der Poel. World Champion Tom Pidcock was not part of the piece, and Michael Vanthornhout finished third. Lars van der Haar was the second Dutchman to finish fifth.
This is Van der Poel’s second successive World Cup cross, after Holst last weekend. Yesterday I crashed in cyclocross in Boom. He did complain a bit about a sore knee, but that turned out not to be a real hindrance in the game.
“I felt really good,” Van der Poel said after his victory. ,, I think this is a fun race and I’ve been driving flawlessly. This is a good sign. It’s such a pity that I’m going to Spain on Monday to train in the sun for a few weeks, because I’m just getting into Cross Rhythm. But we’re sticking to the schedule, because the focus is on spring.”
Van Aert succumbed to van der Poel’s dominance. “I crashed once, because I kind of forgot to train for this,” said the Jumbo-Visma road team rider after returning to the field. For the rest, I was in control, but Matthew was just too fast. I quickly came to the conclusion that I had to focus on second place. The speed was good because I didn’t expect to keep up the pace. Closer to Christmas, I hope to compete again for the main prize.
Fifth victory by Wim van Embel
Wim van Embel won the Cyclocross World Cup competition for the fifth time this season. The 20-year-old Van Embel was, as is often the case this season, in a class of her own and won the Scheldercross in Antwerp.
In addition to Van Embel’s victory, there was further encouragement for the Dutch fans who traveled to Antwerp. Sheldecross has become an all Dutch party. Puck Pieterse finished second, behind Van Empel. Third place was taken by Shereen van Anrooy, and Denise Betsema was fourth in Antwerp.
For example, the entire podium consisted of Dutch riders who were only 20 years old and the future for the women’s riders seemed to be in good shape. However, Van Embel stands head and shoulders above the rest. She won four crosses in the World Cup season.
In the past three races on the World Cup circuit, she has had to leave victory to her compatriot. In Hulst and Overijse the victory went to Puck Pieterse, in Hilvarenbeek Shirin van Anrooij was the best, but in Antwerp order was restored.
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“I said up front that November would be a training month. It’s December now, so I’m happy to be back,” said Van Embel, who made the difference in the second part of the race. “In the beginning my hands were very cold and that made shifting more difficult. In the second part, I drove my own car and was more focused,” said the winner.
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