Van der Poel seals record-breaking eighth cyclocross world title in Hulst

Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) sealed a record-breaking eighth elite men’s cyclocross world title on home soil in Hulst, with a performance that encapsulates everything special about the Dutchman on a cross bike.

The Dutchman made the early selection at the end of the opening lap alongside Tibor Del Grosso (Netherlands) and Thibau Nys (Belgium), before cranking up the pressure on the second lap and creating daylight ahead of the duo.

The new generation of cross stars, featuring the Belgian champion Nys and the Dutch champion Del Grosso, battled it out for the remaining medals, with Del Grosso coming out on top for silver at 0:35, while Nys settled for bronze at 0:46.

This eighth world title marked Van der Poel’s 24th consecutive cyclocross victory, a streak that runs back to the UCI World Cup round in Benidorm in January 2024, where a crash on the penultimate lap put him out of contention.

The 2025/26 cyclocross season was nigh on perfect for Van der Poel with thirteen victories from thirteen starts, sealing the World Cup overall standings for the first time since the 2017/18 season, and securing his record-breaking eighth elite men's world title and surpassing Erik De Vlaeminck.

In total, Van der Poel now has a 75% win rate in elite cyclocross races, winning 183 times in 244 starts.

Tibor Del Grosso (Netherlands) won the holeshot, with Van der Poel (Netherlands) on his compatriot’s wheel. 

As has been the case on multiple occasions, Del Grosso continued his fast start and started to stretch out the field, which pulled himself, Van der Poel, and Thibau Nys (Belgium) clear. 

Lars van der Haar (Netherlands) led the chase behind, making a fast start in his final World Championships.

After four minutes of racing, Van der Poel rocketed up one of the course's steep ascents, with Del Grosso able to match, but Nys lost a few seconds.

It wasn’t all positive for the Dutch, as Pim Ronhaar (Netherlands) suffered a crash towards the end of the lap.

At the end of the opening lap, the front trio were locked together with Van der Haar leading a big chasing pack at 0:18.

Van der Poel continued to push the pace in the early stages of the second lap, and Nys moved up to second to get on the Dutchman’s wheel. 

However, the inevitable gap began to open as Van der Poel railed his way around each corner, rocketed up the climbs, and plummeted down the descents on lap two.

The Dutchman’s gap to the two chasers at the end of lap two was 0:10, and lap three was about more of the same, and the advantage stretched to 0:29. 

Nys and Del Grosso had a strong advantage in the battle for the medals with a big chase pack at 0:54 behind the flying Dutchman.

Van der Poel extended his advantage to the duo to 0:39, whilst Italian rider Filippo Fontana (Italy) was producing one of the best performances of his career, leading the chase pack in fourth at 0:59.

Through the halfway point, lap five saw Van der Poel make a bike change, opting for a fresh machine, taking no chances of any mechanical issues. 

Meanwhile, Nys started to apply some pressure in the battle for silver with Del Grosso, but the Dutchman was up to the task, and the duo were still locked together, 0:44 behind Van der Poel at the end of lap five.

Felipe Orts (Spain) was the next rider to push the pace in the chase pack, in an attempt to hunt down the podium positions on lap six, as Nys started to open a gap on Del Grosso. 

Nys held the exact same gap of 0:44 to Van der Poel at the end of lap six, whilst Del Grosso was at 0:48. Orts had pulled clear from the pack and was at 1:10.

Onto the bell lap, Van der Poel's gap extended to 1:01 as Nys and Del Grosso began to think about the fight for silver, and the chasers behind continued to close the gap.

In the end, Van der Poel cruised to history, whilst Del Grosso was able to capitalise on the steep uphill climb, whilst Nys stalled, which proved to be the pivotal moment in the battle for silver.

Meanwhile, Fontana produced the biggest result of his career to take fifth, after being pipped in a sprint by Joris Nieuwenhuis (Netherlands), who took fourth.

Following his cyclocross exploits, Van der Poel will now turn his attention back to his road preparations and the upcoming spring Classics. 

The Dutchman could make more history if he can win a fourth Paris-Roubaix in a row, which will draw him level with Roger De Vlaeminck and Tom Boonen, but crucially be the first rider to win four editions consecutively. 

Equally, the Dutchman is already the joint record-holder for most victories at the Tour of Flanders with three, and could stand alone with a fourth success in April.