Exact Cross Mol: Mathieu van der Poel dominant in first 'cross meeting with Wout van Aert
Du🌊tchman soloes to victory seven laps out a꧅s Vandeputte rounds out podium

168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) came out on top of his first cyclocross showdown with 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) this season, taking a comprehensive sol♊o victory through the sand at the Exact Cross Zilvermeercross in Mol.
The world champion, starting his second race of the seas♔on after dominating in Heꦇrentals at the weekend, left Van Aert behind on the third of 10 laps after the pair had established themselves at the front during the early laps.
“I felt very good. I rod🐻e well through the sand and that was the most important thing here. Then you can quickly make a difference," said Van der Poel immediately after the race. "I had organized my race and my round well. I was able to recover to ride error-free in the sand. And like I said, that's the most important thing here. I enjoyed myself.”
His ca🍷reer-long rival Van Aert, who also dominated on his season debut in Essen earlier this month, had already shown signs of weakness at several points of the circuit, so it was no real surprise to𒅌 see Van der Poel take the upper hand.
Van Aert was unable to ride fully on his pedals up one of the steeper ramps, which Van der Poel was capable of 🍬riဣding through on the second lap. Just the next time round the Dutchman accelerated into the bottom of the bank and gapped his rival.
“It concerns people more tha💖n us," said Va❀n der Poel on the pair's rivalry.
"Wout indicated that he is tackling the winter without being in the best shape. That seems smart to me in his case. I think he will definitely make it difficult for me in other races and sit at the front. He is  💎;going to win a few this season.”
The Dutchm꧃an, who will race a fuller winter calendar than Van Aert as he targets a sixth world title, was on his own for the remainder of the hour-long race, crossing the line 1:16 up on second-placed Van Aert. His dominance of the race saw him lap all riders up to tenth place.
Behind the duo, who were always the top favourites to fill the first and second s💃pots on the podium, it was Van der Poel's teammate Niels Vandeputte who grabbed third, albeit 2:11 back. Another Alpecin-Deceuninck man, Quinten Hermans, and Toon Vandebosch (Crelan-Corendon) took fourth and fifth places.
Van Aert🔯 and Van der Poel won't have to wait long or another showdown as both are present on the start list for tomorrow's CX World Cup in Antwerp. But they will also have Tom Pidcock for company, making it the first face off betw🌞een the discipline's 'big three' this season.
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publ🃏ications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.
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