Matthieu Van der Poel claims he didn’t want to waste too much energy after being defeated in the Zonhoven World Cup

24hscore news

Mathieu van der Poel won his tenth consecutive race at the Cyclo-Cross World Cup at Zonhoven, this time with a 20-second advantage. Van der Poel acknowledged holding back during the race before going all out in the fourth lap to take an insurmountable lead. After challenger Lucinda Brand wrecked during the race and could not continue, Puck Pieterse became victorious in the women’s division. 24hscore

Mathieu van der Poel, the reigning world champion in Cyclo-Cross, admitted to holding back during his victory at the Cyclo-Cross World Cup in Zonhoven. Despite bitterly cold conditions, he won his 10th successive race of the season without going at full throttle. In the absence of main rivals Tom Pidcock and Wout Van Aert, Van der Poel attacked on the fourth lap, lapping opponents by the end of the fifth and securing a lead of 20 seconds at the finish line.

His Dutch compatriot, Joris Nieuwenhuis claimed second place, with Laurens Sweeck two seconds behind. Van der Poel, part of Alpecin–Deceuninck, expressed satisfaction with his season but mentioned plans to travel to Spain for further preparation ahead of the Cyclo-cross World Championships in February, emphasizing that he hasn’t reached his peak yet.

Van der Poel shared, “I wanted to see how the race developed. It was cold, and it took me a while before I got into my rhythm. It’s a tough race, and I didn’t want to waste too much energy today. I’m always happy to win, of course. I felt OK, and I’m happy I can go and do more training.”

In the women’s race, Puck Pieterse secured her third World Cup victory in Zonhoven after race leader Lucinda Brand crashed out in the third lap. Pieterse faced challenges herself, puncturing her tire shortly after the race’s start.

However, she overtook Brand after a severe crash that injured her nose, and she also kept the race leader within reach.

With a lead of 24 seconds over Inge Van der Heijde in second place and 41 seconds over Zoe Backstedt in third, Pieterse emerged victorious in the race.

“I had a flat back tyre at the start, so I just tried to stay close to the front and that chasing back took a bit of energy out of me,” Pieterse stated.

“Suddenly, I spotted Lucinda standing in a corner, and at first I assumed she was experiencing some sort of mechanical issue.

But after turning a few more turns, I realized she was still missing. Naturally, that was a stroke of luck for me, but I hope she’s okay.”