The Dutch Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), five-time cyclocross world champion, beat the Belgian Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma) alone and widely in their first confrontation of the season on the sand in the ‘Exact Cross Zilvermeercross ‘ de Mol (Belgium).
Van der Poel, who also dominated last weekend in Herentals, left Van Aert behind in the third of the 10 laps of the course and since then began a triumphant march.
The Dutchman, who will compete in a more complete winter calendar than Van Aert, crossed the finish line with a time of 58.29, ahead of his greatest rival by 1.17 minutes. Another Belgian, Niels Vandeputte, reached 2.12.
This Saturday, in Antwerp, a special event of the World Cup will arrive, as Van der Poel, Van Aert and the British Tom Pidcock will meet on the course.
