via Getty
Dutch Mathieu Van Der Poel pictured in action during the men’s elite race of the cyclocross cycling event, race 4/6 in the ‘Exact Cross’ competition, Friday 29 December 2023 in Loenhout. BELGA PHOTO DAVID PINTENS (Photo by DAVID PINTENS / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP) (Photo by DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
via Getty
Dutch Mathieu Van Der Poel pictured in action during the men’s elite race of the cyclocross cycling event, race 4/6 in the ‘Exact Cross’ competition, Friday 29 December 2023 in Loenhout. BELGA PHOTO DAVID PINTENS (Photo by DAVID PINTENS / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP) (Photo by DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Merely a few days after his controversial race and a fine of 250 Swiss Francs at the Hulst World Cup, Mathieu van der Poel added another a feather to his cap. The dutch cyclo-cross champion bagged his tenth consecutive win of the season and now has four consecutive World Cup wins. The talented van der Poel showed the world once again he why is different and perhaps among the greats of cyclo crossing.
He got his tenth win the Zonhoven World Cup and orchestrated a cycling display like no other. Fans of the sport were in awe of the man’s endurance, stamina and will to be better than the rest.
Mathieu van der Poel makes it ten in a row
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Just like he did in the previous nine races over the season, Mathieu had yet another brilliant race. The cyclist finished with a total time of 59:35 in an eight-lap race, with an astounding 20 second lead.
In typical van der Poel fashion, he sailed on the turf and fittingly showed everyone why he belonged to the top in the cyclo-cross. Using his tactical acumen, he planned his attacks meticulously.
It took the majority of the riders three laps to get into rhythm and by the fourth lap; the eagle was set for his flight. He surged ahead at the uphill section at Zonhoven and that opened up his gap to 12 seconds.
via Imago
Dutch rider Mathieu Van Der Poel competes in the Men’s elite race of the ‘Zilvermeer Mol’ cyclocross cycling event, race 3/6 in the ‘Exact Cross’ competition, in Mol on December 22, 2023. (Photo by DAVID PINTENS / Belga / AFP) / Belgium OUT
He sailed through the circuit with no trouble and by the end of the fifth lap, caught lapped riders in his way. By the end of the sixth lap, he was a whopping 32 seconds ahead of everyone else.
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Van der Poel looked back at his performance in the season and said, “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.”
He also talked about the cautious approach at the start due to the cold, “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.” He concluded, “I’m always happy to win, of course. I felt OK, and I’m happy I can go and do more training.”
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Currently, there is no match for the magic that is van der Poel. As fans and pundits, everyone is in the midst of greatness and will consider themselves lucky to witness it in reality.
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