Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) dominated the thick sand sections under rainy weather conditions to win Superprestige Mol-Zilvermeercross on Monday.
The World Champion launched a searing attack with four laps to go and was briefly joined by Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon). However, the latter faltered through the ruts in the sand and lost valuable time but managed to finish second place at 1:03 back.
Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) crossed the line in third place at 1:35 behind.
After winning the UCI World Cup round in Zonhoven on Sunday, Van der Poel continued his success at the start of the week, lining up as the favourite to win in Mol the following day.
Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) lead the race on lap one followed by Sweeck and teammate Joran Wyseure (Crelan-Corendon), Van der Poel, Felipe Orts Lloret (Ridley), Lander Loockx (TDT-Unibet), Yorben Lauryssen (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions), Vanthourenhout, Lorenzo Marasco (Sebmotobikes CX), Kevin Kuhn (Charles Liègeois Roastery CX) and Clement Horny (BH-Wallonie MTB).
The extensive sand sections on the course, which included a demanding climb, were made even thicker due to wet weather conditions earlier in the day, and many of the riders chose to run instead of ride to conserve energy in the early laps.
Vandeputte opened a small lead at the start of the second lap while his teammate Van der Poel sat comfortably back in the chase group several seconds behind. He was soon joined by Vanthourenhout and Wyseure at the lead, but as the pace slowed, the front group hit the deep sand together – all dismounting their bikes to run.
On the third lap, Van der Haar moved into the lead over the stairs followed by Sweeck and Vanthourenhout, Wyseure, Van der Poel, Ors Lloret, Vandeputte and Kuhn held five seconds on the chase group.
The skies opened up and rain came down on the riders as Van der Haar and Sweeck continued to put pressure on the group, but Van der Poel slowly worked his way forward and launched a searing attack on lap four. The world champion led onto the sand and kept the pressure on.
Sweeck closed the gap to Van der Poel and the pair gained roughly 10 seconds on the chase group of Van der Haar, Wyseure, Vanthourenout, and Kuhn at the start of the fifth lap.
Van der Poel rode a smooth circuit on the sixth lap while Sweeck lost ground after faltering through the deep ruts in the sand and ended up falling several seconds behind the leader.
Van der Poel led the race by 25 seconds at the start of the seventh of ten laps and showed no signs of slowing down. He continued to extend his lead to over a minute during the remaining laps and crossed the finish line to take his second win of the season.
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