Van der Poel shows his mastery in Maasmechelen

Mathieu van der Poel has claimed another World Cup victory, this time in Maasmechelen. The world champion capitalised on Wout van Aert’s fall in the second lap, upped the pace and, by the end of the race, saw his lead grow to over a minute.

Starting from the fourth row, Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) wasted no time in beginning the chase. Things seemed to be going well until the Belgian hit a post. His main rival, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), was in second position at the end of the first lap, behind his compatriot Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley Racing Team). Van Aert ended the first lap in seventh place.

Nieuwenhuis and Van der Poel had built up a small lead as they entered the second lap. Van Aert spotted the danger, kept gaining ground, and rode solo to join the two leaders. Not long after, World Cup leader Michael Vanthourenhout also joined the group in front. Van Aert moved up to the front with the world champion close behind, but shortly after, a fall forced him to relinquish the lead. This left Van der Poel suddenly alone at the front. At the end of the second lap, his lead was already 19 seconds.

Van Aert needed a moment to recover from his crash, but when the timer showed a 38-second gap, the Belgian picked up the pace again. He broke free from his fellow chasers, but catching Van der Poel was not on the cards. Far from it - Van Aert ultimately crossed the finishing line more than a minute behind Van der Poel. The battle for third place was between Joris Nieuwenhuis and Joran Wyseure (Crelan – Corendon). The two rode closely together for most of the race, but it was the Dutchman who ended up taking the final place on the podium.