Superprestige Diegem: Mathieu van der Poel and Puck Pieterse victorious under the lights

Dutch stars Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) took wins in the men’s and women’s Superprestige races in Diegem on Thursday evening, both going away solo on the floodlit course to take victory.

The evening races in Diegem saw the riders compete under the lights on a semi-urban course that included stretches of sand, which proved to be the undoing for some riders, but a launchpad for others.

Unlike his early solo attacks that have set up his four wins so far this season, Mathieu van der Poel bided his time more carefully in Diegem, staying with the elite group that formed early on for four laps before launching his move in the sand on the fifth lap.

Read more: Cyclo-cross World Cup: Unstoppable Mathieu van der Poel solos to fourth straight victory in Gavere

The world champion’s powerful acceleration was too much for the likes of Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), Michael Vanthourenout and Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) to follow, and he soon had a gap that would not be closed for the rest of the race.

Pidcock and Iserbyt fought hard to try and chase him down, but Pidcock’s difficulties in the sand especially hampered their offensive, and Van der Poel’s lead only grew over the final three laps of the race.

The Dutchman sat up to celebrate his continuing unbeaten streak, whilst a divebomb move from Pidcock in the final corner saw him beat Iserbyt into second. Van der Poel’s victory marks his seventh time winning in Diegem as an elite rider.

“It was a super nice race actually,” Van der Poel said at the finish. “I loved the crowds today, so it was a good night.”

“I just try to win as much as possible when I start, and for sure I have a good record here in Diegem. I felt quite good today, so I’m happy with the result.”

Full results here.

Two successive wins for Pieterse after long wait

After waiting several weeks to pick up her first win of the season - which she did in Gavere on Tuesday - Puck Pieterse quickly picked up her second with a solo victory in Diegem.

Read more: Cyclo-cross World Cup: Powerful Puck Pieterse takes first win of the season in Gavere

Unlike the slightly more patient Van der Poel, Pieterse attacked in the very first lap, taking advantage of the first off-camber section to move away from the field. Initially, the Dutch champion was joined by Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) but she soon rode her off her wheel and went solo.

Pieterse was fast and smooth even through the most difficult parts of the technical course, building up a lead of around 20 seconds over the first three laps, with Van der Heijden chasing, followed by Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

On the fourth lap, Alvarado passed Van der Heijden, but was still 20 seconds down on Pieterse, and whilst it wasn’t a big gap, the Dutch woman simply looked faster and stronger than the rest of the field and she flew towards victory.

She crossed the line alone to celebrate her second straight victory in Diegem, whilst Alvarado came in 26 seconds down, but close enough to move into the series lead. Van der Heijden held off the chasers to take third.