Van der Poel came, saw and conquered in Zonhoven

His first cyclo-cross race of the season also marked the first win for Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Deceuninck). He took the lead early in the first lap and delivered an impressive solo performance in the Kuil in Zonhoven. A strong Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions) finished second, while Joran Wyseure (Crelan - Corendon) secured a well-deserved third spot on the podium.

Number two in the World Cup standings Toon Aerts (Deschacht - Hens-FSP) had the best start and entered the first corner in front. With the first plunge into the Kuil, world champion Mathieu van der Poel wasted no time in displaying his boundless talent. In one powerful burst, he sped past Aerts to take the lead. Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal), Wyseure and the rest of the favourites did not have a ready answer and had to settle into the chasing group. After one lap, the gap was already 21 seconds.

In the wake of the world champion, the battle for the other podium places, after 2 laps, was still wide open. Thibau Nys and Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions) decided to give chase and soon established a gap on the other favourites. Van der Poel continued to press on and after three laps had a lead of more than 30 seconds. World Cup leader Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal) missed his start, but gradually worked his way back into the race. He and Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) closed to within 20 seconds of the Nys-Ronhaar group.

After a waiver from Ronhaar at the material post, Nys decided to go off on his own. Ronhaar was caught by the pursuers, while Nys grabbed an advantage of about 10 seconds. Halfway through the race, Van der Poel was already posting phenomenal split times. Nys followed alone, 50 seconds behind, with the chasing group about a minute back. Another mistake by Ronhaar forced the rest of the group to put a foot down. Nys continued to ride strongly, gaining a comfortable half-minute lead.

Lars van der Haar moved up a gear and split the group; only Joran Wyseure was able to stay on his wheel. While the pace behind was getting hotter, Van der Poel quietly went about extending his lead. In the penultimate lap, the battle for second spot was once again wide open. As they entered the seventh lap, Nys' lead had been halved and Toon Aerts and Eli Iserbyt had rejoined Van der Haar and Wyseure. However, a rock-solid Nys showed his determination and did not relinquish the advantage he had built up.

The world champion turned the final lap into a lap of honour and secured a dominant win in his first race of the season. After a strong performance, Nys could call himself 'best of the rest'; Wyseure outsmarted Toon Aerts at the end to snatch third podium spot.