Cyclecross: Who would have expected it? In front of a home audience, World Cup winner Mathieu Van der Poel missed the world championship title today. Instead, Wout Van Aert managed to defend his rainbow jersey and complete the hat-trick. With a more than sovereign performance, Van Aert left no doubt that he was in a league of his own, at least today. The Belgian Eli Iserbyt triumphed in the U23 men for the second time after 2016.
Van Aert is in a league of his own
After this impressive World Cup season, most cyclocross fans are now done with a world title Mathieu van der Poel went out. Since the World Cup was also being held in Valkenburg in the Netherlands, he could have had himself crowned in front of a home crowd – but nothing came of it. Mathieu Van der Poel was the tragic figure of the day. The favorite didn't stand a chance in the Valkenburg mud and ended up third. Despite the bronze medal, it was certainly a big disappointment, as it wasn't just the Belgian Michael Vanthourenhout landed in front of him, but his big competitor Wout van aert literally dismantled him. With a lead of 2:13 over Vanthourenhout and 2:30 over Van der Poel, Van Aert was in a completely different league today. The German champion Marcel Meisen turned 14
Wout Van Aert:
“I was expecting a big battle, I felt strong on the second lap, accelerated and made a nice gap. Today was one of my best days on the bike. I never expected a race like this.”
Third World title 🌈 in a row for @WoutvanAert 🇧🇪!! What a champ! #Limburg2018 pic.twitter.com/ECuaGLmopY
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) 4. February 2018
Iserbyt is now European and World Champion
Even before the elite men, the U23 class got on their bikes. Here, too, the top favorite went for a swim in the Valkenburg mud. The British overall World Cup winner caught on the difficult Cauberg course thomas pidcock not a good day After crashes and a bad start, it was only enough for 15th place. The Dutch title defender came second Joris Nieuwenhuis before the French Yan grass. Best German was Maximilian Mobis in 24th place. The big winner of the day was the Belgian Eli Iserbyt, who was able to win the title in 2016 and is currently the European Champion. In the end, despite a fall, he won easily.
Eli Iserbyt:
"I still can't believe what just happened. I worked very hard for it. The race went like a dream. I knew it was going to be tough, Joris had a very quick start and he was very good on the descents, but I knew he couldn't keep it up. I gained a few seconds every lap and that was the plan.”
shhh No news here. Your new #limburg2018 #cxworlds U23 Men's champ is the same as the 2016 champ: @IserbytEli pic.twitter.com/uhzydcisGb
— Cyclocross Magazine (@cyclocross) 4. February 2018
Leave a Comment