A cautious and dominant win
Van der Poel was, as usual, led out from the start by his trade and national teammate, Tibor del Grosso, and followed closely by Thibau Nys (Baloise Verzekeringen–Het Poetsbureau Lions ). The three riders were soon clear of the rest of the field and crossed the line at the end of lap 1, leading by 18 seconds. Not much later, at the top of a steep climb, van der Poel attacked and was soon clear. He led Nys and del Grosso by 10 seconds at the end of lap 2 of 8 and by 29 seconds at the end of lap 3. Race over.
To make sure of getting the record, van der Poel raced with uncharacteristic prudence on a slippery course that had caused havoc in the Elite Women’s race. He ran over, rather than rode over, the planks, took the many corners on the course more cautiously than is his habit and changed his bike on lap 5 to avoid a late mechanical issue.
It didn’t matter. Del Grosso was always racing for second and did not help Nys race after his teammate. And Nys eventually saw the light and decided to race for second. But he again made too many mistakes, especially on a steep climb that del Grosso easily rode over, and so had to be content with third. Del Grosso finished second, at 35 seconds with Nys finishing 46 seconds behind the jubilant winner.
“It’s pretty special,” said Van der Poel. “When I started cycling, the dream was to become a world champion one day in the elite category. To now having the most titles of all time, it’s incredible. Maybe I felt a bit stronger [winning at Hoogerheide and Maasmechelen] last weekend. This course was completely different. I really tried to manage my bike and my tyres as good as possible to be sure that a mechanical didn’t ruin the party. I did what I had to do, and I’m really happy that it all worked out.”
Van der Poel celebrated his record-breaking victory by letting out a roar as he crossed the finish line. He said the shout was an imitation of football legend Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘Siuu’ yell. “In Spain, we do a lot of sprints for the town signs, 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.”
The battle for second
As usual, the main suspense in the race was the battle for second place between future world champions del Grosso, age 22, and Nys, 23 years old, once the latter accepted the hopelessness of chasing van der Poel. And, as usual between the two, it was a thrilling back-and-forth, which was decided by del Grosso’s ability to ride up a steep climb without stepping off the bike and by the rain that began falling late on lap 6 and became a downpour on lap 7.
Nys had opened a serious gap on his rival on lap 6 and appeared to be in control when the rain began to fall. “For a long time, I felt I had control over that second place, until it started pouring rain on the penultimate lap,” he explained. “By then, I had little recourse. I opted for a bit of a lighter profile [tyre], which was perfect until one-and-a-half laps to go.
“I also made my move at the right moment, and I could make the gap for second place. Then it started raining full gas, and it was way too late to switch [tyres] again or make a call to the pit crew. I just had to do it with what I had… Losing a couple of seconds every corner was not nice, but Mathieu was the strongest, so we don’t really have the feeling that we missed out on a title or anything.”
What he failed to talk about was his inability to crest that steep climb, which gifted del Grosso up to 3 seconds every time. Nys managed to climb the rise without stepping off only once; del Grosso failed to conquer it only once. That adds up to about 18 seconds of lost time, give or take. The last time that occurred, on the final lap, del Grosso simply rode away and soon had a gap of 7 seconds – and the contest was over.
Top 10 Elite Men – 2026 CX World Championships, Hulst
- Mathieu van der Poel, Netherlands 1:00:25
- Tibor del Grosso, Netherlands +0:35
- Thibau Nys, Belgium +0:46
- Joris Nieuwenhuis, Netherlands +0:55
- Filippo Fontana, Italy “
- Gerben Kuipers, Belgium +0:58
- Felipe Lloret Orts, Spain +1:04
- Toon Aerts, Belgium “
- Jente Michels, Belgium “
- Michael Vanthourenhout, Belgium+1:35
