One day after a spectacular win at the final DVV Trophy round in Lille, Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon) won again in the penultimate round of the Superprestige series in Hoogstraten. It’s the nineteenth victory of the season for Van der Poel. Once again, world champion Wout Van Aert (Crelan-Charles) fell short against the Dutch champion in a direct duel. And also not for the first time this season, Kevin Pauwels (Marlux-Napoleon Games) finished in third place.
“Again, it was an exciting race where a lot was going on. It was a very tough course to race on,” Van der Poel told Telenet Play Sports.
Van der Poel won all but one of the Superprestige rounds this season but still, Van Aert is only five points behind.
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“Last year, Wout had a problem with his derailleur. That can happen to me as well. The classification is only decided when you cross the line in Middelkerke,” Van der Poel said.
Overnight rain created a muddy course in Hoogstraten. The long twisting section and barriers halfway round the course suited the Dutch 22-year-old rider, with Van Aert not able to hop the barriers as fast as Van der Poel. The final mud section just before the finishing straight suited Van Aert much more. Throughout the race, Van der Poel took the initiative and he quickly discovered Van Aert opted to run the barriers. Straight from the start, Van Aert was forced to chase Van der Poel, Tom Meeusen (Telenet Fidea Lions) and Pauwels.
The world champion only bridged up when Van der Poel made a small mistake in the mud at the start of the second lap. From the second lap on, the four rode away from the rest of the field. Pauwels often struggled in the running section at the back-end of the course but he always managed to return on the asphalt when the pace dropped in front. From the second lap Van Aert was distanced in the twisting section after the barriers.
Afterwards, he vented his frustration. “As long as those fucking-loops feature in this course I’ll never win here, I think. At halfway there’s also the barriers in that section. I lacked the morale to try it. It’s my own fault that I’m running the barriers but every lap you lose time there,” Van Aert told Telenet Play Sports.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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