Four out of four for Van der Poel, even Van Aert can&#x27;t stop the world champion, Nys and Sweeck on the podium

🚵🇧🇪 | Mathieu van der Poel aan de leiding! Hij heeft in de eerste ronde al een klein gaatje op Tim Merlier en Wout van Aert ⚔️⚔️ #ExactCross #Azencross 📺 Stream cross op HBO Max

Read 1 reply

Van Aert slipped and had to chase

On the second lap, Van Aert made a short 'pit stop,' quickly doubling his gap to Van der Poel. Vandeputte and Sweeck (obviously) showed little initiative in taking over and letting the Belgians take care of it. A few turns later, Van Aert had to chase due to a minor slip. Meanwhile, Van der Poel had managed to extend his lead further.

At the end of lap one, Van der Poel was still riding proudly in the lead, with Sweeck six seconds behind. The Belgian accelerated in the final kilometers of the lap, trying to get closer to the Dutch rider. Behind them, meanwhile, Nys had managed to shake off Merlier, and due to Van Aert's little mistake, he managed to catch up with them. This created a chasing group at seventeen seconds. Behind them, the differences with the rest of the competitors were already considerable.

Text continues under the X message.

🚵🇧🇪 | Foutje bij Wout van Aert die hierdoor wat terugzakt. Voorlopig is Laurens Sweeck de grootste concurrent van koploper Mathieu van der Poel. #ExactCross #Azencross 📺 Stream cross op HBO Max

A particularly strong Sweeck, but just not strong enough

Sweeck showed his fighting spirit in the third lap and emerged as a serious contender. He closed the gap to Van der Poel and cleverly placed himself in his wheel, an impressive performance by the Belgian. Someone closed a gap with the world champion for the first time this week. Behind them, the duo Van Aert-Nys was at 14 seconds, while Vandeputte struggled more and more and had to let the rest go.

The world champion put extra pressure on his closest rival in the fourth lap. With a smart acceleration, he beat Sweeck. Behind them, Nys and Van Aert battled side by side for third place. Meanwhile, Vandeputte had definitely disappeared from view. Entering lap five, Sweeck looked at a seven-second gap while Van Aert and Nys followed at eighteen seconds.

Text continues under the X message.

🚵🇧🇪 | Laurens Sweeck heeft een topdag! Hij dicht het gat met Mathieu van der Poel. Spanning volop! #ExactCross #Azencross 📺 Stream cross op HBO Max

Read 1 reply

Nys, Sweeck and Van Aert battle for the podium spots

In the fifth lap, the race scene changed little. Van der Poel made no more mistakes, while Sweeck did not let his chasers get much closer. Entering the second-to-last lap, the 31-year-old Sweeck had a 13-second lead, while the duo behind followed at 22 seconds. By now, it was clear: the Crelan-Corendon rider would not have overtaken Van der Poel alone, and he now had to focus on securing second place.

On the sixth lap, the rider from Visma-Lease a Bike and Baloise Trek Lions came closer. Nys, in particular, pushed hard while Van Aert visibly reached its limit. Van der Poel also had a moment of panic when he slipped just before the pit area. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. Nys succeeded in his attempt moments later, and with Van Aert, Sweeck, and the young Belgian next to each other, the bell was rung for the final lap.

Text continues below the X message

🚵🇧🇪 | Ai, daar gaat Wout van Aert. Hij loopt met deze valpartij het podium mis! Thibau Nys en Laurens Sweeck sprinten zo achter Mathieu van der Poel voor de tweede plaats. #ExactCross #Azencross 📺 Stream cross op HBO Max