Mathieu van der Poel is the new Cross World Champion aboard a STEVENS Super Prestige. The 20year old from the Netherlands set himself ahead of the race early on, followed by his compatriot Lars van der Haar and the complete Belgian National Team. Van der Poel handled the slippery course securely with enormous skill - he cleared the obstacles by jumping in almost every lap to win decisive seconds – gaining a lead of up to 18 seconds.

A crash at the beginning turned the race into a Dutch-Belgian duel. Germans Marcel Meisen and Philipp Walsleben were affected by the consequential time loss. Sascha Weber had to abandon the race because of two broken rear derailleurs while Ole Quast was forced to give up after dislocating his shoulder in a first lap crash. Before the race, Quast had been sure to finish in the first 25.

In the penultimate lap van der Poel became slower, yet was able to keep the lead. Behind him, Lars van der Haar (Netherlands) slowly had advanced forward. At first, he fought a duel for the Silver Medal with World Cup Series winner Kevin Pauwels. When the latter dropped behind, it was Wout van Aert (Belgium) who, after a crash and two technical, bravely had fought his way back, to leap his front wheel over the finish line first in the sprint against van der Haar.

Aboard their STEVENS Super Prestiges Marcel Meisen and Philipp Walsleben had ridden to the front in the second half of the race to finish 8th and 9th, respectively. German National Champion Marcel Meisen said: ”It was a course that suited me well. It was my goal to finish top ten, that’s why I am really happy.” Meisen had sat in 13th place most of the time and had several riders in sight in front of him. ”Eventually I was able to catch a couple of them”, he said to radsport-news.com, also referring to Belgian Veteran Sven Nys.

Philipp Walsleben said: ”My start was awful. My bike slipped and I found myself in a place in the 20s. Then I suffered a technical what also resulted in a time loss.” His pursuit to the front ranks demonstrated he was back in shape after suffering from a cold in the beginning of the year. ”I’m pleased with my legs”, he said to radsport-news.com. Considering the circumstances this result was alright. By winning the event Mathieu van der Poel followed in the footsteps of his father Adrie van der Poel. Adrie had won the Cross World Title in 1996. But only after coming in 2nd six times.

Directly after the race, Mathieu who had just turned 20 two weeks prior to the event: ”It was the race of my life. Last week in Hoogerheide I have given proof that I am able to ride ahead in the Elite class. The race was also mentally challenging because the gap was never really big. I am gladly looking forward to a season in the World Champion Jersey.”