Mathieu van der Poel makes winning cyclocross return at Hulst World Cup

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) made a winning return to cyclocross with a dominant victory at the Hulst World Cup. After starting down the grid, Van der Poel recouped that ground early on and then drew away from world champion Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) with a little under two laps remaining to claim a resounding victory.

Pidcock, winner in Kortrijk on Saturday, still had Van der Poel just about in his sights when he took the bell, but the Briton’s race was ended by a broken rim on the final lap and he was denied the podium place his efforts deserved.