Without Wout van Aert and Thomas Pidcock, the outcome of the race was somewhat doubtful. Heavy favorite for the cyclo-cross world championship, Mathieu van der Poel won easily in Tabor (Czech Republic) on Sunday 4 February to claim his sixth title in the discipline. Without his two main competitors, who decided to dedicate themselves to preparing for the road season this year, the Dutchman went through the race.
His second consecutive world champion title, van der Poel captured it with much less suspense than in 2023, when he defeated van Aert in a sprint in Hoogerheide (Netherlands). This time, the Dutchman, on the first of six laps of the race, very quickly dropped the competition by several tens of seconds. Only Joris Nieuwenhuis, who finished second, 37 seconds behind his compatriot, could stay within reasonable distance.
On a muddy and sticky course, far from being as stable as expected, van der Poel also dominated Belgian Michael Vanthaurenhout, who finished 3rd, while France’s Clement Venturini finished a disappointing 16th, aiming for the podium. Its 5th position in 2022.
Thanks to this sixth world champion title, van der Poel approaches the legend of cyclo-cross, Eric de Vlemink, who wore the crown seven times between 1966 and 1973. Will the Dutchman try to equal the Belgian next year? There is room for doubt because, in recent weeks, Raymond Polidor’s grandson has publicly questioned his presence on the cyclo-cross circuit.
French crowned in mixed relay
“I don’t think it adds value to me for the spring. It’s better to do five or six hours of endurance riding than an hour flat out.”, Van der Poel declared. While some cyclists prepare for the road season with training in the mountains and in Spain, the Dutchman has favored cyclo-cross races to get in shape for many years.
“There will come a day when I won’t do it anymore. It makes sense.”, mentioned the Alpesin-Desunic rider. In Tabor, where he was crowned in cyclo-cross for the first time in 2015, aged just 20, van der Poel may have competed in his last world championship for some time. The Dutchman will make his decision at the end of the year and will now dedicate himself to the 2024 road season, with the Olympic Games in his sights but probably not the Tour de France.
On the French side, the cyclo-cross world championships were a success with the French winning the mixed race on Friday. A member of the victorious relay, Celia Geary (18 years old), also won gold in the junior race on Saturday, confirming her potential after claiming the European Champion title in November. In the elite women’s race, it was Dutchwoman Fame van Ampel, already a winner last year, who was crowned world champion.
