Ruddervoorde: Van der Poel takes third straight Superprestige win

Van der Poel stands atop a Superprestige podium with Van Aert as runner-up and Sweeck in third place for the third time this season

Photo: TDW

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Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank – Corendon) nabbed his third straght Hansgrohe Superprestige win so far this season on Sunday, claiming victory in the third round of the series at Ruddervoorde.

After spending much of the race locked in a tight battle against Wout Van Aert (Crelan – Vastgoedservice), the 21-year-old Dutchman took control in the last few laps. He claimed the top spot on a familiar final podium — just as in the first two races of the Superprestige series, Gieten and Zonhoven, Van Aert finished as runner-up to van der Poel, with Laurens Sweeck (Era – Circus) rounding out the podium in third yet again.

Top 10

1. Mathieu VAN DER POEL, (NED), 1:05:18
2. Wout VAN AERT, (BEL), 1:05:47
3. Laurens SWEECK, (BEL), 1:06:12
4. Kevin PAUWELS, (BEL), 1:06:27
5. Jens ADAMS, (BEL), 1:06:40
6. Toon AERTS, (BEL), 1:07:10
7. David VAN DER POEL, (NED), 1:07:18
8. Tim MERLIER, (BEL), 1:07:25
9. Klaas VANTORNOUT, (BEL), 1:07:29
10. Dieter VANTHOURENHOUT, (BEL), 1:07:31

As they have done so many times this season, Van der Poel and Van Aert established themselves as the top two contenders early on in the race, getting clear of the rest of the field by the third lap and then trading attacks and counterattacks at the head of affairs.

Van der Poel began pulling away after five of nine total laps, and although he hit the deck in a slick stretch of grass in lap seven, a quick remount limited the damage.

Sweeck, meanwhile, had separated himself from the rest of the chasing pack as the clear third strongest rider on the course.

Reigning world champ Van Aert saw any chance of overtaking the 2015 world champion go up in smoke in the final lap, when he dropped his chain during a brief dismount. Van der Poel’s advantage ballooned as Van Aert lost several precious seconds dealing with the mechanical, allowing the Dutchman plenty of time to enjoy the cheers of the fans along the barriers as he rolled down the finishing straight to seal the victory.

Van Aert crossed the line 29 seconds down to take his third straight Superprestige runner-up finish, with Sweeck finishing 54 seconds back en route to a third straight Superprestige third place.

Results

1. Mathieu VAN DER POEL, (NED), 1:05:18
2. Wout VAN AERT, (BEL), 1:05:47
3. Laurens SWEECK, (BEL), 1:06:12
4. Kevin PAUWELS, (BEL), 1:06:27
5. Jens ADAMS, (BEL), 1:06:40
6. Toon AERTS, (BEL), 1:07:10
7. David VAN DER POEL, (NED), 1:07:18
8. Tim MERLIER, (BEL), 1:07:25
9. Klaas VANTORNOUT, (BEL), 1:07:29
10. Dieter VANTHOURENHOUT, (BEL), 1:07:31
11. Joeri ADAMS, (BEL), 1:07:34
12. Michael BOROS, (CZE), 1:07:45
13. Michael VANTHOURENHOUT, (BEL), 1:07:50
14. Vincent BAESTAENS, (BEL), 1:07:52
15. Jim AERNOUTS, (BEL), 1:07:54
16. Gianni VERMEERSCH, (BEL), 1:07:58
17. Stan GODRIE, (NED), 1:08:32
18. Daan HOEYBERGHS, (BEL), 1:08:47
19. Jens VANDEKINDEREN, (BEL), 1:09:09
20. Patrick VAN LEEUWEN, (NED), 1:10:02
21. Braam MERLIER, (BEL), 1:10:04
22. Stijn HUYS, (BEL), 1:10:51
23. Rob PEETERS, (BEL), 1:11:07
24. Kenneth VAN COMPERNOLLE, (BEL), 1:11:28
25. Vinnie BRAET, (BEL), 1:12:17
26. Niels WUBBEN, (NED), 1:12:29
27. Yu TAKENOUCHI, (JPN)
28. Quincy VENS, (BEL)
29. Matthias VAN DE VELDE, (BEL)
30. Glenn KINNING, (IRL)
31. Félix FUENTES, (ESP)
32. Fernando JIMÉNEZ, (ESP)
33. Manuel Martin JIMENEZ, (ESP)