Van der Poel overcomes double jeopardy for 50th elite World Cup win in Maasmechelen

Mathieu van der Poel overcame multiple punctures to win the penultimate round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Maasmechelen, as Alpecin-Premier Tech swept the podium.

The World Champion suffered a front-wheel puncture mid-way through the race, which saw him lose significant time. He eventually chased his way back to the front before a rear-wheel puncture threatened to put the race win in jeopardy once more.

However, Van der Poel had more than enough in the locker to overcome these obstacles to win his 11th race of the season and extend his lead in the World Cup standings. 

Van der Poel's teammates, Tibor Del Grosso and Niels Vandeputte, finished second and third, whilst Thibau Nys narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth.

There was an unfortunate incident from the get-go as Pim Ronhaar and Joran Wyseure were involved in a big crash on the start straight, ending the Belgian’s race, who needed medical attention.

British champion Cameron Mason stormed into an early lead and opened up a sizeable gap over the field in the first few minutes. Onto the second lap, a front group of six formed featuring Mason, Mathieu van der Poel, Tibor Del Grosso, Niels Vandeputte, Kevin Kuhn and Thibau Nys.

At the end of lap two, Del Grosso upped the pace whilst Mason was distanced due to a puncture. On the third lap, Nys was riding with intent on the front when a crash saw him slip to the back of the quintet.

Van der Poel began to turn the screw shortly after, with his teammate Del Grosso the only one able to follow. The gap started to open between the World and Dutch champion on the fourth lap until Van der Poel suffered a front-wheel puncture.

This saw the world champion shed significant time as he was a long way from the pit area. By the end of the lap, Van der Poel had slipped to 5th at 0:13 behind Del Grosso.

Eventually, Van der Poel reached the pit zone, and this initiated the chase, with the gap to Del Grosso over 0:20. All the while, as Van der Poel was chasing, Nys and Vandeputte were in close quarters to Del Grosso at the front. Van der Poel then returned to the chasing duo on lap 6 with Del Grosso holding a 0:05 advantage.

With three riders, Alpecin-Premier Tech could play the numbers game against the Nys, forcing the Belgian champion to close the gap to Del Grosso. Shortly after the catch was made, Van der Poel slid out on the cambered climb as a result of a ripple effect from in front and lost a few seconds once more. 

With many obstacles in his way so far, Van der Poel opened up his engine on lap 7 and started to grow a handsome advantage of 0:13 by the end of the lap. Though if there hadn’t been enough drama, Van der Poel then suffered a flat front wheel, but the world champion was far better placed near the pits and got a fresh bike, still in the lead. 

Ultimately, Van der Poel still managed to soar his way to victory, whilst there was a competitive battle to join him on the podium with his teammates Del Grosso and Vandeputte rounding out the podium.