Mathieu van der Poel clinches victory at season debut at World Cup Hulst

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Four-time world champion Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Deceuninck has made his season debut at the World Cup Hulst with a conclusive victory in his first ‘cross race in 11 months, after successfully overtaking Tom Pidcock of Ineos Grenadiers, who suffered a crash later in the race and could not finish. Laurens Sweeck of Crelan-Fristads came in second, while Eli Iserbyt of Pauwels SauzenBingoal finished third.

This victory marks Van der Poel’s first win since the Oostende world championships last January, and his fifth at the Hulst circuit. According to him, he is happy to have won a cyclocross race, especially since his last season was impeded by back injuries leading to only “one and a half races”.

Van der Poel has also mentioned how he intends to remove his vulnerabilities and improve his technique as he gears up to face Wout van Aert, and Piddock at the cyclocross world championship in February. His victory has also come after a prolonged break from the injury that affected his 2021-22 season, and a shaky start with a crash in the first circuit followed by ultimately winning after exploiting Pidcock’s error late in the race, to create a 10-second lead between himself and the next in the race, Sweeck. The next leg of the World Cup is set to take place in Antwerp and all eyes are expected to be on Van der Poel.