Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock had a dramatic early-race collision during the Superprestige Boom race on Saturday. Pidcock appeared unaffected after hitting the deck. But van der Poel took his time recovering from the collision with the cobbles.
The two riders were already in the lead on the second lap when Van der Poel appeared to start a turn late after passing the pit zone and, unable to correct on the slippery cobblestone surface, crashed into the barriers marking the side of the course. Pidcock was close behind and could not avoid the fallen Dutch rider.
🤕 Pijnlijke val van Van der Poel op de kasseien in Boom. Hij rijdt als twee na laatste opnieuw verder. Pidcock was mee betrokken in de val maar kon snel hervatten en rijdt momenteel aan de leiding met een voorsprong van 8️⃣ seconden. #SPBoom #Superprestige2023 pic.twitter.com/P29mRhuL3e
— SuperprestigeCX (@SuperprestigeCX) December 3, 2022
Pidcock remounted quickly and carried on in the lead. He would ride the remaining laps solo, chased by Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) and Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal). Pidcock takes the win in his world champions jersey while van der Haar just edged out Iserbyt.
Van der Poel continued to race, finishing 13th in Boom. The Dutch rider admitted he had hurt his knee and shoulder in the crash but added that he still expected to start Sunday’s World Cup in Antwerp.
The timing is not excellent for van der Poel. Tomorrow’s World Cup in Antwerp is expected to be the first showdown between all three powerhouses of cyclocross: Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock. While van der Poel won his first showdown with the British world champion, he will want to be on top form when van Aert returns to cyclocross.
Class act of persistence of @mathieuvdpoel today in Boom for the @SuperprestigeCX. After a hard crash in which he hit his knee, MVDP continued and ended on P13! 👊 pic.twitter.com/b9rsXM4mzv
— Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team (@AlpecinDCK) December 3, 2022
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