Mathieu Van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon) shook off his shoulder pain with a commanding win in the Koksijde sand. The 22 year-old Dutch champion won his third consecutive World Cup round on a windy Sunday afternoon on the course next to the North Sea in Belgium.
Compatriot Lars van der Haar (Telenet Fidea Lions) was runner-up at 40 seconds, holding off world champion Wout Van Aert (Crelan-Charles).
Van Aert was able to keep up with Van der Poel during the opening lap before starting to lose ground in the second of the nine laps. After multiple Koksijde wins in the youth categories, it was the first win in Koksijde in the Elite Men category for Mathieu van der Poel. Knee problems and last year’s storm held him back a few years.
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“It was something I was looking forward to. The previous year the race was cancelled. I really like sand courses so it was so much fun to ride out here and take the win today,” said Van der Poel, who seemingly rode flawlessly through the multiple sand sections to complete a great solo.
“I started ahead of the bunch. I knew it was the best way because you can do your own thing, ride your own lines. It’s also a little bit difficult because you’re always riding in the sand first and all the traces are gone then. Sometimes, that’s hard but I enjoyed riding here.”
Coming into the third World Cup round, a shoulder injury sustained at Saturday’s Superprestige round in Boom seemed to hold back the chances of Mathieu van der Poel. He lined up at the start line with his right arm taped up with a tattoo-design.
Van Aert rides backwards
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