When you're trying to clean your bike and it causes more problems 😫. Thibau Nys clears mud from his tyres but slides out and loses places! Vanthourenout to the front 💥 #CXWorldCup #FLCS
Van der Poel's bold move in third lap secures victory in Gavere, completing a perfect three out of three
Cyclo-crossThursday, 26 December 2024 at 16:57
Mathieu van der Poel won the World Cup in Gavere on Boxing Day. The world champion of Alpecin-Deceuninck eliminated his last competitors, Michael Vanthourenhout and Thibau Nys, in the third lap with one attack and finished it off with an impressive solo attack. It was his third win in less than a week after Zonhoven and Mol.
Van der Poel was at the start of his third cyclo-cross this season in Gavere. The multiple cyclo-cross world champion likes to turn his arrival at a race into a show, and Boxing Day was an ideal opportunity for that. So Van der Poel arrived with great interest in a striking orange-colored Lamborghini. With that entrance, the Van der Poel hype for the rest of the program was firmly cemented.
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The cyclo-cross in Gavere is one of the most challenging on the calendar. The riders had to deal with many elevation changes and a technical descent. Van der Poel has won the race in Gavere four times already and—also given his performances in Zonhoven and Mol—was considered the absolute favorite for victory.
Nys had the best start. His teammate Lars van der Haar also started well in second place, which had often not happened in recent weeks. Van der Poel started a bit more cautiously, as in Mol, but found himself solidly in the top ten. Nys started vigorously and created a gap together with Vanthourenhout. However, Nys fell back to position three after he crashed into the fence.
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Van der Poel strikes on slant
On the second lap, Nys took the lead again. Together with Pim Ronhaar, Vanthourenhout, and Van der Poel, he was in the lead group. For Vanthourenhout, it was still not fast enough, and he accelerated. Van der Poel was right on his wheel, where Ronhaar had to leave a gap. Due to a slide in the descent, Ronhaar completely lost the connection. For Nys, it was all hands on deck. He fought his way back to Van der Poel's wheel with extreme effort.
The latter kept his cool for a while, but it wasn't long before his moment arrived. On the third lap, Van der Poel took the lead towards the slant. There, he placed his first attack. Nys had no response. Vanthourenhout resisted briefly but was unable to keep up with the world champion.
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Danger ⚠️ as MVDP moves to the front! Lap 3️⃣ / 7️⃣ and is this the last time his competitors see him until the end of the race? #CXWorldCup #FLCS
Tense battle for spots two and three
The die was cast. As in the past, Van der Poel decided the cross in his favor with a single attack. Nys and Vanthourenhout were already half a minute behind at the end of the third lap. Nothing could be done to counter Van der Poel's supremacy. An extended solo awaited the world champion, but he completed it skillfully. Thus, Van der Poel won his third cyclo-cross in five days.
The battle for the remaining podium spots was between Vanthourenhout, Nys, and Van der Haar. The latter came closer to the duo second by second. He was fourteen seconds behind Nys and Vanthourenhout with three laps to go. Where Van der Haar was getting up to speed, Nys was struggling. He had to let Vantourenhout go. However, he showed his best side by doing a solid lead for Van der Haar towards the finish line passage.
Van der Haar came to within seven seconds of Vanthourenhout. So the latter felt the heat and forced the pace back up. An ominous sign for Van der Haar was that Nys could keep his wheel, whereas, in the previous laps, he was riding around significantly faster than his teammate. Vanthourenhout started the final lap with a 15-second lead, which would be enough for second place. In doing so, he did excellent business for his leading position in the World Cup. Van der Haar lost third place to Nys due to a small mistake.
Results World Cup Gavere men 2024
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
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Latest Comments
- Well explained, thanks for the clarity! Daniel DantasDanieldantas20-12-2024
- This is the kind of 'news' that belongs in a cheap tabloid. No matter how boring the offseason gets, nobody wants to read this.
santiagobenites19-12-2024 - I wish we could have seen him try. He'd absolutely get dropped before Pogi overtakes his domestiquesVeganpotter10-12-2024
- Talk is cheap! Next year barring crashes with a healthy team... all well be on track! Some need to talk to make a headline!mootman27-11-2024
- I do not see this event listed on HBO Max Sports Online? Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
MrYuck23-11-2024 - It seemed that he was focusing forward at the time of the crash, after seeing a quick video snippet. But one thing I think he should focus on more intently is breaking a bad habit he has, right now. And that is his constant looking over his shoulders. He does that so much, that I am very sure it is not good for him. Simply watch videos of the greats of CX and you will see very little of that constant looking over their shoulders. That is a behavior that betrays a bit of insecurity on his part. He shouldn't be so concerned, incessantly, about what is over his shoulder. He needn't worry they didn't all disappear. He neds to keep his focus more ahead of himself, and he needs to pay a bit more attention to himself, in a confident manner. It is very frustrating to watch, because it is apparent that he has a lot of potential, and is in much better shape thwan many of his competitors, but the mental game needs to be sharpened more, because that part of strategy plays a huge part in the final results
reemmo022-11-2024 - hahahaha love this shit! I didnt even watched the race, but reading all the gossip articles of how stupid this is!Zatoichi19-11-2024
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024