Even on Tuesday after the World Cup race in Gavere, there seems to be no match for Mathieu van der Poel. The five-time world champion took off like a rocket from the very start and did not see Wout van Aert, who initially had a short revival, and his other competitors again.
With Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pidcock, 'the Big Three' were at the starting line, and the complete 'sub-top' category was also present for the cyclo-cross in the East of Flanders: Eli Iserbyt, Michael Vanthourenhout, Joris Nieuwenhuis, Lars van der Haar and Pim Ronhaar. Every organization would relish such a field of participants, for which almost 17,000 people left their homes on Boxing Day.
After Van Aert and Van der Poel headed into the field side by side from the second row at the starting line, the Dutch winner of Milan-San Remo immediately threw off his racing goggles and blasted away from the rest. Unlike the cyclo-cross in Antwerp, Van Aert did not take a wait-and-see approach this time and tried to follow his Dutch archrival as closely as possible. Behind the Belgian, the field crowded together as Joris Nieuwenhuis, Lars van der Haar, Michael Vanthourenhout, Eli Iserbyt and Pim Ronhaar gave their all. Pidcock, who had to start from the back of the pack again, began a massive chase and had almost caught up with that quintet after the first round.
Eight seconds was the difference after the first round, and Van Aert also kept pace with the world champion, who attracted some booing. Van Aert, cheered on by the thousands of fans, was clearly having a better day but saw his deficit grow to half a minute after two rounds. The Jumbo-Visma Belgian, like the rest, suffered on the tough course and took risks on the descent - which almost went wrong. During the third round, the 29-year-old Belgian crashed downhill, but slid towards the posts at high speed, until a spectator broke his fall with a headbutt.
Van der Poel, in the same round, encountered Costa Rican Felipe Timoteo Nystrom Spencer, who, while being lapped, was taking selfies with the many spectators, prompting the Dutchman to push him aside with a firm nudge. Shaking his head, Van der Poel continued on undisturbed.
Behind Van der Poel and Van Aert, initially only the Baloise Trek Lions duo Van der Haar and Nieuwenhuis fought a fierce duel for the last podium slot. The winner of the Superprestige races in Boom and Merksplas and the World Cup in Val di Sole thought during the race that his finger was broken, as he constantly hit the posts with his hand. Pidcock, who had fallen back due to a fall, took many risks on the descent to make a comeback for the second time, but the mountain biker, who can maintain balance like no other, used the buffer to re-enter the top five.
The Brit with the Red Bull helmet even got to briefly smell a top three finish by riding the fastest round in the third and fourth tour. The young INEOS Grenadiers rider showed a lot of resilience, but made too many mistakes in his eagerness to secure his podium place quickly. Van der Poel also wasn't spared a dirty pair of pants, but could well afford a fall, as his lead over Van Aert had already grown to forty seconds.
Van der Haar had to surrender his fight for a podium spot in the penultimate round, while Nieuwenhuis was a tougher match for Pidcock, who even placed a breakaway on the brand-new asphalt. The young climber couldn't shake off his Dutch companion in the bright sun, but still beat Nieuwenhuis with a final sprint.
Van der Poel grabbed his fourth victory in as many cyclo-cross races. Earlier, he won the X2O Trophy in Herentals, the Zilvermeercross in Mol and the World Cup in Antwerp. He now adds a fourth victory to his record in Gavere (2022, 2018 and 2016). In the women's race, the victory went to Puck Pieterse, who ended the winning streak of Fem van Empel.