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World Champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) dominated the ninth round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Antwerp, winning the race by 30 seconds ahead of his nearest rivals.
It was a highly anticipated round of the World Cup, with fans expecting a battle of the so-called “big three”. However, Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) finished a distant second place with world cup leader Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) in third, and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), who was feeling ill earlier this week and crashed off the start line, finished in eighth at over a minute back.
“I missed my start a bit. I clipped out of my pedal, got caught up in the chaos and had to take my time to get to the front. I felt the legs were good, so I didn’t panic and took my time to get there,” said Van der Poel, who then spent 40 minutes of the eight-lap race solo.
“I was behind Eli, and he…
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