With a week until the World Championships, Mathieu van der Poel triumphed in his fifth straight World Cup round at Sunday’s series finale in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands. Master of the Hoogerheide muck, Dutch rider Lucinda Brand doffed her third elite women’s World Cup crown, and Belgian Michael Vanthourenhout wrapped up his first World Cup title. Isabella Holmgren impressed in 10th place a day after coming 12th. She only raced four elite rounds and finished 23rd overall, the top Canadian.
Elite Women
Early in the race it appeared that Hoogerheide would be a contest between Brand and Dutch champion Puck Pieterse, but Pieterse crashed on Lap 2 of 5 and Brand rode solo to victory. Saturday’s winner Blanka Vas, Pieterse, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, world champion Fem van Empel and Zoe Backstedt chased. Runner-up Vas jumped over Zoe Backstedt into third place overall. Pieterse rounded out the podium.
Having never finished off the podium, Brand raised her third World Cup trophy, beating van Empel, who won the most rounds with four. Brand carried off three wins, Alvarado had two, and Marie Schreiber and Vas each claimed one. Backstedt, sixth on Sunday, is the U23 champion.
Brand also won the World Cup in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. She leads the X2O Badkamers Trofee by almost 10 minutes and the Superprestige by one point.
Elite Women Final Standings
1) Lucinda Brand (The Netherlands/Baloise-Glowi Lions) 350 points
2) Fem van Empel (The Netherlands/Visma-Lease a Bike) 276
3) Kata Blanka Vas (Hungary/SD Worx-Protime) 253
Elite Men
To no one’s surprise van der Poel romped to victory, rising from sixth overall to fourth, only five points from third, despite having missed half the races. He’s the runaway favourite to claim his seventh World Championship next weekend.
It is Hoogerheide runner-up Vanthourenhout’s first major series title, having finished second overall in the World Cup twice and third twice. The Pauwels-Sauzen rider beat Toon Aerts by 40 points via victories in the Dublin and Namur rounds. Eli Isberyt, Thibau Nys, Wout van Aert and Niels Vandeputte all took one round.
Elite Men Final Standings
1) Michael Vanthourenhout (Belgium/Pauwels Sauzen) 281 points
2) Toon Aerts (Belgium/Deschacht-Hans-FSP) 241
3) Joran Wyseure (Belgium/Crelan-Corendon) 205
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