Mathieu van der Poel admits he held back in Zonhoven World Cup win – 'Didn’t want to waste too much energy'

Updated 07/01/2024 at 18:15 GMT

It was a 10th victory in a row for Mathieu van der Poel, who triumphed with a 20-second advantage at the Cyclo-Cross World Cup in Zonhoven. Van der Poel admitted he held back during the race, attacking in the fourth lap and building an unassailable lead. Puck Pieterse won the women’s race after rival Lucinda Brand crashed during the race and was unable to continue.

Highlights: Van der Poel storms to 10th consecutive season win in Zonhoven World Cup

Mathieu van der Poel admitted he held back during his victory at the Cyclo-Cross World Cup in Zonhoven.

The reigning world champion won his 10th successive race this season, even when not going at full throttle in bitterly cold conditions.

With his main rivals Tom Pidcock and Wout Van Aert missing from the event, Van der Poel attacked on the fourth lap, and started to lap opponents by the end of the fifth.

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The Alpecin–Deceuninck rider could not be caught, and he crossed the finish line with a lead of 20 seconds.

His Dutch compatriot Joris Nieuwenhuis placed second, while Laurens Sweeck was a further two seconds behind.

Van der Poel will now travel to Spain to prepare for the Cyclo-cross World Championships in February, having recently asserted that he still hadn’t hit his peak.

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"I’m super happy with how this part of the cyclo-cross season went, but I’m also happy that I can go to Spain and work on the form again," Van der Poel said, in quotes published by Cycling News.

"I wanted to see how the race developed. It was cold and took me a while before I got into my own 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."

It was a third World Cup victory for Puck Pieterse in the women’s race in Zonhoven, after race leader Lucinda Brand crashed out in the third lap.

Pieterse also had to overcome difficulties, having punctured her tyre shortly after the start of the race.

But she managed to keep the race leader within catching distance, and overtook Brand when she crashed badly and hurt her nose.

Pieterse won the race with a 24-second advantage over second-placed Inge Van der Heijde, and a 41 second lead over third-placed Zoe Backstedt.

"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 said.

"Then suddenly I saw Lucinda standing on a corner, and I thought she had a mechanical or something.

"But a few corners later, I could see she still wasn’t there anymore. That was a bit of luck for me, of course, but I hope everything is fine with her."

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