The Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel achieved this Sunday in Hoogerheide (Netherlands) his twelfth victory in the thirteen races he has competed this winter, while the Belgian Eli Iserbyt, who was fifth in the closing race, finished first in the general classification of the World Cup.
Van der Poel, who was only deprived of victory a week ago in Benidorm, is presented as the great favorite for next Sunday’s World Championship in Tabor (Czech Republic), where the defending champion aspires to win his sixth title.
He was five seconds ahead of his compatriot Joris Nieuwenhuis and nine seconds ahead of the trio formed by the also Dutchman Pim Ronhaar and the Belgians Thibau Nys and Eli Iserbyt.
Fifth in Hoogerheide, Iserbyt achieved the goal of adding the necessary points to confirm his first place in the general classification of the World Cup, which he already won in 2022. The Belgian won two races, both in France (Troyes and Flamanville) , and was the most regular on the circuit.
In the women’s race, the Dutch Fem van Empel won the sprint ahead of the Hungarian Blanka Vas and added her seventeenth victory in 19 races this season, in which she also won the European title.
Her compatriot Ceylin Alvarado, fifteenth this Sunday, had already secured victory in the general classification of the World Cup since last week.