Van der Poel leaves no room for competition in Mol, but claims "Wout will definitely beat me soon"

Number of riders at the starting line: 61. Number of finishers: 10. Number of DNFs or OTLs (Did Not Finish or Outside Time Limit): 51. Mathieu van der Poel dominated the cyclo-cross around the Zilvermeer in Mol. Granted, the laps were just over five minutes long, but still, the world champion was unstoppable in the Flemish sand.

Mathieu van der Poel 1 - Wout van Aert 0. That's the score in their head-to-head battles after the Exact Cross in Mol, which was clearly in favor of the Dutchman of Alpecin-Deceuninck. Van der Poel spoke about the race both before and after the sandy cyclo-cross, which attracted a lot of interest from both the media and spectators. The last cyclocross showdown between Van der Poel and Van Aert dated back to February 5, 2023, at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hoogerheide. In that race, Van der Poel emerged victorious in a two-man sprint. Nearly ten months later, their next duel was scheduled to take place in and around the Zilvermeer of Mol. "I think I'm ready for the duel with Wout. It's always a very tough race here, especially with the changes made this year. There's even more sand now, making it even harder. I'm definitely looking forward to it," MVDP told the cycling journalists present on Friday afternoon.

"Wout is someone who always pushes me to the limit," Van der Poel said of Van Aert

Van der Poel, who was coincidentally spotted during an old-school registration process about two hours before the start of the sandy race, found it difficult to clearly pinpoint a favorite for the race. However, he did mention that it's enjoyable to compete against his Jumbo-Visma opponent once again. "There's no doubt that it's naturally more enjoyable with Wout around. He's someone who always pushes me to the limit. I expect that it won't be any different here in Mol," he said, anticipating a thrilling race. Being on the starting line with Van Aert didn't change things much for Van der Poel, who mainly saw his Flemish competitor as "just one more competitor". "Moreover, racing against Wout is something I'm already used to by now."

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Van Aert expected quite a bit from Van der Poel as well. "I assume that Wout will also be in good form this year. So, we'll see if that actually leads to a lot of duels between us," he looked ahead to the races that will take place in the coming weeks. "A very busy period is coming up. For me, the key is to come out of it as fresh as possible. That's my main focus during the Christmas period." Van der Poel set the tone for his cyclo-cross comeback a week earlier in Herentals, where he delivered an outstanding one-man show. When asked in Mol if that victory gave him more confidence, he mostly responded in the negative. "Herentals didn't give me more confidence than I already had. I knew my fitness level was good from training. It's also not because Herentals went so well that every race will be the same."

Van der Poel handled sandy sections very well

After a brief moment with the press, the world champion continued his course reconnaissance. About an hour and a half later, he made his move. In the third lap, Van der Poel pulled away from the Belgian all-rounder, who ultimately had to concede more than 75 seconds at the finish. "I really had a good feeling, but I rode especially well through the sand," the winner recapped in the flash interview. "That was the key here, and it allowed me to create a gap quickly. I paced my race well too. I had sections where I could recover and sections in the sand where I could push hard. I had fun today."

After the ceremonial duties (and a conversation with Van Aert), Van der Poel returned to the cycling journalists. "I enjoyed it, especially because it's a race I really like to ride," he told IDLProCycling.com and others. "In the first two laps, we were riding in front together. At that point, in terms of the fans and the atmosphere, it felt just like the old days. It would have been even more enjoyable if we could have raced each other a bit longer. But in a sandy cyclo-cross, that's just very difficult. If one of us makes a mistake, the other immediately gains a gap. Last year, I made that mistake; this time, it was Wout," he says, referring to the 2022 edition.

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Van der Poel expects exciting Christmas battles with Pidcock and Van Aert

In the Flemish province of Antwerp, Van der Poel stood head and shoulders above the rest. Before the race, he kept things somewhat uncertain, but afterward, he admitted to expecting it to some extent. "Wout has repeatedly stated that these races are definitely not his peak moments. Besides, it's only his first race after the training camp. In the muddy races, which are truly his kind of courses, I expect him to be back on form. He will definitely beat me at least once during the Christmas period. I'm convinced of that."

"The result here in Mol does give a slightly distorted picture," he continues about the upcoming duels with Van Aert, the first of which is the next day in Antwerp. "I felt that I rode very well through the sand. I made very few mistakes. If someone behind me then makes a few small mistakes, the gap grows significantly. This is especially true in a sandy cross. It's certainly not that Wout is performing poorly. Again, this is a distorted picture. There will be more exciting duels to come, including with Tom Pidcock," he says without being overly confident.