Cyclocross, Van Der Poel returns with victory. Van Aert second

Rome, 25 January 2025 - Just as the road season is in its very early stages, the cyclocross season is coming to life and is approaching the moment of the verdicts. The first concerns the eternal duel between Mathieu van der Poel e Wout van aert, that today at Massmechelen they challenged each other for the last time of the year: the winner, once again, was the Dutchman, returning from the rib problem he suffered Loenhout which in the end turned out to be more serious than expected.  

The news

  From the simple blow initially reported, we have moved on to a fracture that is still causing problems for the son and grandson of art, who despite the still persistent discomfort, won in the penultimate stage of World Cup and he did it right in front of his eternal rival. Talking about a duel, in a certain sense, is a bit misleading, because the many mistakes made by Van Aert they immediately cut him out of the game. For a change, between the Belgian and his dreams of glory, on the road as in cyclocross, there are often falls, for a trend that is confirmed even today: with a shoulder hit against the barriers. There are no consequences and so Van Aert he's good at getting back up Van der Poel before running into a slide on the downhill that causes serious damage to the handlebars. At that point the Dutchman takes off and creates a gap until the finish, which by a matter of a few points does not yet sanction the mathematical victory of the World Cup by Michael Vanthourenhout: with a margin of 32 points su Toon Aerts, tomorrow at Hoogerheide the leader of the standings will only need a comfortable 17esimo place.  

Van Der Poel's statements

  There's not much comfort when you're running through mud with a rib that's still sore practically from the start. 27th December. "It's not good yet, it's not completely right and I still have some discomfort. But that's not the problem, also because I can't change things: I just hope that the pain isn't too strong, because this preparation period is very important for me in view of the spring". Before the race Massmechelen the future winner had spoken like this: always to the microphones of CyclingFlits, the post-race comment is decidedly more radiant. "It went well with the rib, even if I still felt a bit of discomfort. The positive aspect is that I was able to concentrate on that painful area and not on my legs, which were also burning. I'm happy and I had fun in this new test: it was beautiful and I thank the public for having contributed to creating such a beautiful cyclocross race". The final word on the mud season, however, is not there: the appointment is for next weekend, when the World Championships in Lièvin. "I usually feel good when I finish a long training period, even if I have a lot of work in my legs. A race like that, after a phase like that, was better for me than a fast and flowing one. Today I went at my own pace and I was good technically: I'm happy."

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