Eighth for World Champion Tom Pidcock after a slow start
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) returned from a knee and shoulder injury sustained in a crash at the previous day’s Superprestige Boom to secure a solo victory at the UCI World Cup in Antwerp on Sunday.
A highly-anticipated round of the top-tier series saw Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) return to cyclocross with a blistering opening lap. Still, Van der Poel quickly caught and passed his rival, dominating the race to take a solo win.
“Antwerp is a race that I really like, and I think today was also technical, and finally, I felt OK,” Van der Poel said in a post-race interview, noting that he felt a bit sore following the crash in Boom but that it did not affect his race.
“I felt good. I got a good gap and then maintained it, so I’m pretty happy today.”
Photo by Tom Photo Cycling on Unsplash
