Image 1 of 10
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) outsprinted Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on the motor sports tarmac of the Zolder raceway to win the fifth round of Superprestige Heusden-Zolder in east Belgium.
The two giants of cyclocross marked each other on the ninth and final circuit of the course, with Van der Poel taking the initiative with a burst of speed just prior to a long muddy descent and then running the stairs. Then Van der Poel made a mistake and skipped off the bike in the woods, and the duel was back together for the massive sprint.
Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) held off World Champion Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) for third place. The podium gave Van der Haar enough points to take a solo lead in the Superprestige series.
Van Aert was the last to take victory in Zolder, while Van der Poel dominated the race with four consecutive wins between 2017-2020.
“It was nerve-racking all the way through the race,” Van Aert told Gazet van Antwerpen after the finish. “Mathieu broke open the race, and I think we both felt we weren’t going to get each other off today. The second half of the race I was only concerned with which tactics I would use. I wanted to make it a long sprint. So I thought it was better to be in second position.”
Van der Poel said he wanted to make a difference in the technical sections, but he was disappointed with the small mistake when he had to put his foot on the ground to stay upright. It not only disrupted his momentum but sand had worked its way into his cleat causing his foot to slip when he tried to surge in the long sprint against Van Aert.
The unfamiliar form of 19-year-old Danny van Lierop tagged onto the wheel of Thijs Aerts (Baloise Trek Lions), and the pair charged to the front of the field to begin the opening twists of the contest. However, it only took half a lap for Van der Poel and Van Aert to stamp their authority on the 100-rider field and gap all contenders on the super-fast course.
By the end of the second lap, Quinten Hermans (Tormans Cyclo Cross Team), Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) and Pidcock rode together in the first chase group with 23 seconds and a lot of work to do. They were soon joined by the trailing trio of Sweeck, Van der Haar and Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
The lead duo ticked off another pair of laps and extended their lead to 40 seconds. Pidcock took the reins for the chasers to begin the fifth lap and he was followed by Vanthourenhout, Sweeck and Vandeputte, while Van der Haar and Hermans lost touch with the chasers and fell back to connect with Joris Nieuwenhuis (Baloise Trek Lions). The 10th place rider was nowhere in sight.
As the sun began to set and cast long shadows across the Zolder motor race track, Pidcock sensed the urgency and on the sixth lap began to create a gap on his companions.
Well ahead, Van der Poel looked to have an issue with his bike on a short, punchy climb in the woods and had to dismount and run, allowing Van Aert to sail past. However, Van der Poel refused to give up and the duo were back together with three laps to go.
Pidcock trailed in solo third, 32 seconds back, but his effort was negated on the penultimate lap by Vanthourenhout and Van der Haar, Sweeck trailing another 13 seconds.
As Van Aert and Van der Poel stormed across the course for the final pass, Van der Haar and Pidcock had pulled back a little more time, but seemed to confirm they would battle for the final spot on the podium.
The victory for the Belgian champion came just one day after he lost to his Dutch rival at World Cup Gavere on Monday. The duel ended in reverse order on Tuesday for Superprestige round five in Zolder and the second day of Kerstperiode of Belgium racing.
Van der Haar and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads), who finished eighth on Tuesday, began the day leading the Superprestige series after the first four rounds, level with 55 points, and Iserbyt, back in action after crashing at World Cup Val di Sole, trailing by three points. Neither Van Aert, in his first start of the series, nor Van der Poel were chasing points for the seven races in the circuit.
Pidcock won the previous round of Superprestige in Boom on December 3, but he never contended for a top spot in Zolder, where he was second last year.
“Today, I was not even in the race,” he said at the finish. “Not the best day. It’s a hard course. In the end, I was getting into my rhythm. Lars was really strong today. Lars is always fast.”
Results powered by FirstCycling (opens in new tab)
