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Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) made it a perfect nine in the iconic dunes of the Koksijde ‘cross.
The Dutch ace piledrived away from the pack in the opening lap Thursday and blazed a sandy, muddy rut for the chasers to follow from a distance as he continued his next-level undefeated 2023-24 season.
Who can stop Van der Poel at ‘cross worlds next month?
He doesn’t even think he’s in top form right now.
“I can certainly still improve toward worlds,” Van der Poel said after the race Thursday. “I trained very well for the ‘cross season, but since Herentals [mid-December, ed] I have actually trained very little. I just did these ‘crosses.”
Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) made a muscling comeback from fourth in the final two laps to finish on the bottom step of the podium.
Rising star Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions) finished second to reassert his status as “the next big thing” of Dutch cyclocross.
Third prong of the “big three” Tom Pidcock pulled out ahead of the race with sickness.
The bullish Brit will miss the next few ‘crosses and race only one more time before the classics come calling. Pidcock’s return to action in Benidorm mid-January will mark the final CX clash of the “big three” before they bang bars again in the Belgian spring.
Van der Poel is dominating the world of ‘cross, but he’s already got an eye on the biggest prizes of the spring.
“After the race Sunday, I will go back to Spain to finalize the preparation for cyclocross worlds,” he said. “The training is still building, first to the world championships, then to the classics. The plan is that the peak should be in the spring. That is still the most important thing.”
Van der Poel was inch-perfect Thursday. He piledrived away from Van Aert and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) mid-way through the opening lap and was almost perfect all day as he grappled his bucking bike through the unpredictable sand of the beachy Belgian course.
The Dutch ace nursed a narrow gap through the opening laps while “breakout of the season” Ronhaar led the chase ahead of Van Aert.
Ronhaar was resilient in keeping Van der Poel in sight, but the 22-year-old eventually succumbed to the seeming inevitable as masterful MVDP built out his winning gap of 1:20.
It took Van Aert some time to find the groove that won him the race last season. The fluoro-clad home favorite looked labored through muddy sections and uncomfortable in the sandy stuff, and slid backward early in the race.
Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) moved into third in the middle of the ‘cross, but Van Aert dug deep to draw back onto his wheel and eventually power away for a hard-fought place on the podium, one step below Ronhaar.
Fem makes it 14 in supreme show in the sand
Guess what?
Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) dominated once more in the women’s race.
The 22-year-old prodigy powered away from the pack in the first lap and was never seen again as she blazed to her 14th win in 16 races this season.
A clear run through the deep dunes and boggy mud of the iconic Koksijde course gave the world champion the free track required to drive a wedge into her rivals and score a 39-second victory.
“I had a gap quite quickly and then I continued at my own pace,” Van Empel said at the finish. “If you have the space to choose your lines, it’s a lot easier.”
It wasn’t all perfect for Van Empel though.
The young Dutchwoman took a tumble in the pits and fell heavily on the knee she injured on New Year’s Day at GP Sven Nys.
“It was on the stitched knee … I’ll need some new knees at the end of the season I think,” she joked.
“No, I hope it didn’t get too much damage. I can’t see what it’s like now. I had covered it well, but a knock can of course do a lot. We will see.”
Sore knee or not, Van Empel was untouchable Thursday.
Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) led the chase for much of the race, closely followed by Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Apecin-Deceuninck).
Alvarado blazed through the final laps and briefly made contact with Brand on the very final straight but didn’t have the legs to outsprint her compatriot for second in what was a thriller finale.