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Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) outsprinted Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on the motor sports tarmac of the Zolder raceway to win the fifth round of Superprestige Heusden-Zolder in east Belgium.
The two giants of cyclocross marked each other on the ninth and final circuit of the course, with Van der Poel taking the initiative with a burst of speed just prior to a long muddy descent and then running the stairs. Then Van der Poel made a mistake and skipped off the bike in the woods, and the duel was back together for the massive sprint.
Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) held off World Champion Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) for third place. The podium gave Van der Haar enough points to take a solo lead in the Superprestige series.
Van der Haar and Laurens Sweeck, who finished eighth on Tuesday, began the day leading the Superprestige series after the first four rounds, level with 55 points, and Iserbyt, back in action after crashing at World Cup Val di Sole, trailing by three points. Neither Van Aert, in his first start of the series, nor Van der Poel were chasing points for the seven races in the circuit.
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