Mathieu van der Poel strikes immediately on cyclocross return in Namur

Van der Poel made a modest start in Namur. An early slip left Van der Poel buried around 2oth, yet he surged into the top 10 within minutes. On the Citadel’s famous off camber section he produced a standout move to claim second place behind Vanthourenhout, and when the pace briefly stalled a larger group returned to the front. 

The next decisive split came when Lars van der Haar forced the pace and opened a gap, with Vanthourenhout, Van der Poel and Nys able to follow. 

In the fourth lap, the crowd was startled when Van der Poel crashed in a technical descent, but he was back on the bike quickly and repaired the damage on an uphill cobbled section to rejoin the leaders. Later in the race he still showed a few moments of rustiness, underlining that he has not focused much on cyclocross yet, as he himself said earlier this week.

Over the following laps, the race settled into a tense balance despite several probing attacks. Van der Poel looked measured, at times easing the pace rather than forcing the issue, and Van der Haar even managed to briefly return to the group.

The key move arrived late. Van der Poel’s first real acceleration came just after 40 minutes on the uphill cobbles, with Nys initially able to jump back to his wheel. In the final lap Nys slid out and lost his chain, and although he managed to return, Van der Poel pressed on and opened a gap that Vanthourenhout could not close. A clean passage of the off camber section sealed the win, with Nys taking second and Vanthourenhout third.

In the women’s race, Lucinda Brand delivered a statement win in Namur, riding away early and never being caught in the Citadel Cross. Even a mid race puncture did not change the outcome, as she regained time immediately after a bike change and won comfortably. Aniek van Alphen finished second and kept the overall World Cup lead. Returning Puck Pieterse briefly threatened from behind but faded late and missed the podium.