Cyclo-cross World Championships: Magnificent Mathieu van der Poel wins elite men's title

Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) was in a class of his own on Sunday to win a sixth elite men's title at the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Tábor.

The Dutch rider was in unstoppable form, and never out of first position throughout the race as his rivals fought to remain on terms through muddy conditions.

Joris Nieuwenhuis made it a Dutch one-two, with Michael Vanthourenhout taking third place for Belgium. Pim Ronhaar (Netherlands) finished fourth, and Eli Iserbyt (Belgium) fifth.

The win marked Van der Poel's 162nd victory and closed out what has been an incredibly dominant period for the multi-disciplined world champion. The victory also moved the Dutch rider to within one world title of Erik De Vlaeminck's record-setting seven wins.

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"It was the most important race of my cyclo-cross season, so I'm happy to take the win," Van der Poel said at the finish.

The defending champion had the perfect start and was able to get away cleanly before the first technical sections. The same couldn't be said for a number of potential podium contenders, with Cameron Mason and Lars van der Haar among several riders held up.

Van der Poel's blistering pace on the early lap left almost everyone trailing with Niels Vandeputte (Belgium) the only rider within touching distance of the favourite. Nieuwenhuis quickly settled into third and it wasn't long before the two Dutch riders had dropped Vandeputte.

From there the race settled into a familiar pattern with Van der Poel consistently knocking out relentless lap times with little to no mistakes.

The battle for third threatened to break into a competition at several points with a handful of riders within just a few seconds of each other by the end of the opening lap. Ahead, Nieuwenhuis had second place locked up until a late charge from Vanthourenhout towards the end of the race.

Clément Venturini (France) came through the first lap in third place but by the following lap, a solid picture had formed with the Dutch pair clear and of Vanthourenhout in third.

Pim Ronhaar briefly moved into podium contention but up ahead Van der Poel continued to set the pace as the gap between him and second began to breach 30 seconds.

Further down the field Lars van der Haar suffered a snapped chain that brutally ended his slim hopes of a podium, while Vanthourenhout did manage to close the gap to Nieuwenhuis to under ten seconds in the closing stages.

In the end though there was no threat to Van der Poel, with the 29-year-old capping his 'cross campaign with yet another rainbow jersey to add to his collection. Nieuwenhuis rode a smart and efficient race to take his first silver medal at this level, while Vanthourenhout saved Belgium with a bronze medal and the final step on the podium.

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