Mathieu van der Poel stays in CX winning cruise control in 2026 with victory in Baal despite crash
New year, same winner. Mathieu van der Poel kept his perfect record intact this winter with a win at the X2O Trofee Baal, shrugging off a mid race crash to seal his seventh victory of the season.
The GP Sven Nys did not blow apart from the gun. The group stayed fairly close early on, although Nys briefly found himself caught behind a split.
When Van der Poel finally took charge in the second lap, the change was immediate. After a slightly awkward moment on an off camber section, he hit the front and pushed on, then accelerated again on the faster roads.
In a flash, he had a gap. The first real move of the race put him clear, with Emiel Verstrynge emerging as the closest chaser. Toon Aerts and Joris Nieuwenhuis tried to limit the damage, with Thibau Nys also forced onto the chase.
The race stayed alive, though. In the third lap Verstrynge made it back to Van der Poel, turning it into a two man lead. For a while they rode clear together, building time on the group behind.
Van der Poel then slipped in a crash, but it did not change much. He remounted quickly and closed straight back on to Verstrynge. After a short spell on the Belgian’s wheel, he went again. In the fifth lap he increased the pace, Verstrynge began to crack, and the gap stuck.
From that point Van der Poel rode away. The advantage grew lap by lap and he finished it off solo, staying unbeaten this winter. Verstrynge held on for second. Behind them, Thibau Nys won the fight for third, dropping Joris Nieuwenhuis, Toon Aerts and Jente Michels in the closing laps.
Tomorrow, racing continues with the Exact Cross Mol and another showdown between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. Want to know how to watch? Check it out here.
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