Only one person has ruled the cyclocross winter season so far: the Dutch genius Mathieu van der Poel. The world champion was all set for another strong finish in the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup in Benidorm, but as fate would have it, it just wasn’t meant to be for him.

He had a mechanical during the first lap of the race, and an unexpected crash in the eighth of nine laps closed all doors of victory number 11. For a man who sets such high-performance standards, the race result will certainly not be at par. However, one man’s loss is another man’s gain, and Wout van Aert bagged his first World Cup victory of the season.

Luck runs out for cyclocross champion in Benidorm

Mathieu van der Poel was coming off a spectacular string of races, with four consecutive World Cup wins in Antwerp, Gavere, Hulst, and Zonhoven. For a person in such a rich vein of form, expecting them to pull off another one is not far-fetched. But as they say, an athlete does need the rub of the green to go their way, too, and unfortunately for him, it did not.

The race started on a bad note for him after he had to slow down due to a mechanical that pushed him back to the 28th position. Mathieu mustered up all his energy to power through the technical sections. He quickly raced to the 19th position at the end of the first lap, again showing the world why he is special cyclocross talent.

He raced his way to the fifth position, and with just two laps remaining, the writing was on the wall, or so we thought. A small slip during his courageous attack was just the opening the other riders needed, and van der Poel finished the race fifth, 12 seconds behind first-placed Wout van Aert.

All is still not lost for Mathieu

Speaking to the media after the disappointing race, Mathieu spoke about the various challenges throughout the race and how he still believed it was possible. But to come out on top after facing multiple issues and luck not favoring you, it was a tough day in the office for the Dutchman.

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“Of course, I would like to win, but I knew that it had to end someday. This is a super difficult race to win. It is difficult to make a difference, and I think I have to be satisfied with my place today,” he said.

But let his minor blip not take away the greatness and magic that Mathieu van der Poel produced this season. For an athlete to dominate a tournament with such ease and consistency is unprecedented, and everyone must consider themselves blessed. This race was the 13th and penultimate race of the World Cup and the last time van der Poel and van Aert locked horns this season.

Watching these two operate over the course of the winter has been nothing short of spectacular. Mathieu van der Poel has one last shot at glory in this season, when he lines up as the defending World Champion in Tabor next month.  It will be race worth watching and rest assured, there will be some magic on the track!

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