Wout van Aert confirmed his status as the strongest cyclo-cross rider in the world when he took another hugely impressive win on a very muddy circuit in the Bpost Bank Trofee race in Loenhout. After an exciting duel with archrival Mathieu van der Poel, he made the difference in the penultimate lap and extended his lead all the way to the end to take a clear solo victory and virtually secure the overall victory in the Bpost Bank Trofee series.

 

If anyone was still doubting whether Wout van Aert is currently the best cyclo-cross rider in the world, the young Belgian put those doubt firmly to rest by delivering another excellent showing in the Bpost Bank Trofee race in Loenhout. On a very muddy and technical circuit, the Belgian was in a class of his own and took a hugely comforting solo win in the final cyclo-cross race of the year.

 

Right from the beginning, van Aert showed his intentions when he attacked with teammate Rob Peeters. The pair were quickly joined by van Aert’s archrival Mathieu van der Poel and after Peeters had been dropped, it developed into a fascinating duel between two of the rising stars.

 

Van Aert did most of the work and clearly looked like the strongest rider in the race. He only made a small mistake at the midpoint of the race which briefly allowed van der Poel to get clear but the Belgian quickly rejoined his rival.

 

From there, the outcome was never really in doubt as van der Poel was clearly fatigued after what had been a difficult race. As the number of mistakes from the Dutchman was growing, it was only a matter of time before van Aert exploited one of them to make the difference.

 

He did so in the penultimate lap and from there, it was a solo ride all the way to the finish line. He distanced van der Poel by more than 30 seconds, taking a hugely convincing solo win.

 

Behind the pair, the battle for the final spot on the podium was an intense one, with a resurgent Sven Nys battling with Tom Meeusen and Peeters. The trio kept attacking each other but in the final lap, they were joined by Kevin Pauwels, Gianni Vermeersch and Jan Denuwelaere to make the fight even more exciting.

 

In the end, Meeusen was able to make the difference and he made a solo attack to finish on the podium. Vermeersch held off Denuwelaere and Pauwels in the sprint for fourth while Nys rolled across the line in 8th.

 

With the win, van Aert virtually secured the overall win in the Bpost Bank Trofee series as he now leads Nys by a massive 4.45. However, the fight for the second place is very close as Pauwels and Meeusen are only 1 and 3 seconds further drift respectively.

 

The next race in the series is held on New Year’s Day when the traditional GP Sven Nys takes place in Baal. The final race takes place on February 7 in Lille.

 

How it unfolded

Road star Ramon Sinkeldam made a rare appearance in a cyclo-cross race and it was the Giant-Shimano rider who sprinted down the paved finishing straight to claim the first position. The Dutchman led the group through the first muddy sections before Wout van Aert took control as they went through the pit for the first time.

 

Van Aert and his teammate Rob Peeters got a very early gap and it was Mathieu van der Poel who was forced to lead the chase on the very muddy circuit. However, van Aert slid out in the mud which allowed van der Poel to rejoin the leaders.

 

While van Aert remounted, van der Poel attacked and he quickly got a small gap. Further back, Tom Meeusen led the pursuit in the splintering main group.

 

Van Aert used his great technical skills to rejoin van der Poel while Peeters had to use a bit more energy to regain contact. As they entered the finishing straight for the first time, Meeusen and Vincent Baestaens had also joined the front group while Sven Nys, Philipp Walsleben and Joeri Adams were just 4 seconds behind. Like in the Superprestige race in Diegem, Kevin Pauwels had got a poor start and was trailing the leaders by about 15 seconds.

 

The Nys group regained contact in the early part of the second lap. However, van Aert was just riding his own race and as they entered a very difficult section, he created a gap.

 

Van der Poel refused to give up and the young Dutchman set off in pursuit of his archrival. Just before they reached the site of the intermediate sprint, the youngsters joined forces while Meeusen led the group across the line5 seconds later.

 

Van Aert did most of the pace-setting but as they entered the finishing straight for the second time, van der Poel took over. At the passage of the line, the pair were 23 seconds ahead of the big chase group which had been joined by a resurgent Pauwels.

 

Unfortunately, Nys suffered a front wheel puncture and this caused him to lose contact with the chasers. Meanwhile, Walsleben attacked and set off in lone pursuit of the two youngsters.

 

Pauwels continued his gradual progress and he brought Walsleben back into the fold. A bit further back, Nys had rejoined the chase group together with Gianni Vermeersch.

 

Pauwels nearly went down in a muddy section and this allowed Walsleben to reopen his gap. Peeters also got a slight advantage while Nys was now leading the chase.

 

At the end of the third lap, the two leaders were 39 seconds ahead of Walsleben and Peeters. Nys was looking a lot stronger than he has done recently and led a group with Meeusen, Adams and Baestaens just a few seconds further back.

 

The two chase groups merged in the fourth lap and Pauwels, Vermeersch and Sven Vanthourenhout also rejoined them. As they entered a muddy section, it was Meeusen who made the next big attack and he immediately got a small gap.

 

Van Aert made a small mistake in a tricky corner and as he came to a halt, van der Poel exploited the situation to launch an attack. The Dutchman distanced his Belgian rival who quickly got back on his bike and started the pursuit.

 

A little further back, Nys and Peeters had bridged the gap to Meeusen who continued to plough his way through the deep mud. Meanwhile, van Aert showed his class to bridge the gap to van der Poel and he went straight to the front to put his rival under pressure.

 

At the end of the fourth lap, the front duo had extended their advantage to a massive 55 seconds. The next group with Pauwels, Vermeersch, Adams, Jan Denuwelaere and Vanhourenhout were 10 seconds further adrift.

 

Nys hit the front of the chase group and as he upped the pace, Meeusen was dropped. Meanwhile, Pauwels had used up the services of his teammate Vermeersch and was now in lone pursuit of the first five riders.

 

Van der Poel was now starting to pay the price for his hard work and as van Aert accelerated again, the young Dutchman briefly lost contact. Meanwhile, Peeters had made a small mistake in the chase group and had been dropped by Nys. Instead, Meeusen had rejoined the Belgian champion.

 

While van Aert led the front duo across the line to start the penultimate lap, Nys was forced to run through a section where Meeusen rode his bike. As a consequence, the veteran dropped back to Peeters but as he remounted, he went back into chase mode.

 

At the passage of the line, the chase trio were back together and were now trailing the leader by 1.21. 15 seconds further back, Pauwels had been swallowed up by a bigger group in which Vermeersch had again gone back to work.

 

Van der Poel was showing signs of fatigue and on the penultimate lap, he made several small mistakes. As he slid out in the mud, van Aert finally got a gap and he quickly rode away from his rival.

 

Van Aert extended his lead throughout the entire lap and as he started the final lap, he was already 16 seconds ahead. Meanwhile, Meeusen had briefly distanced Nys and Peeters but as they hit the finishing straight, they were back together. However, they were now 1.51. Pauwels led the big group 12 seconds further back.

 

While Meeusen set the pace, an impressive Pauwels managed to bridge the gap, thus getting back into podium contention. Moments later, Nys hit the front and tried to put his rivals under pressure.

 

The Belgian champion was unable to make a difference and while Peeters took over the pace-setting, Vermeersch joined from behind. Peeters briefly distanced his companions but the quintet entered the final section together.

 

There was no one stopping van Aert though and the Belgian maintained his speed all the way to the line. Going full gas to maximize his gains, he took another hugely impressive solo win, with van der Poel finishing second 36 seconds behind.

 

Meeusen launched a late attacked and the Belgian managed to make a difference in the mud, taking the final spot on the podium. Vermeersch escaped to take fourth while Peeters beat Pauwels, Jim Aernouts and Nys in the sprint for fifth.

 

Result:

1. Wout van Aert

2. Mathieu van der Poel +0.37

3. Tom Meeusen +2.01

4. Gianni Vermeersch +2.17

5. Jan Denuwelaere

6. Kevin Pauwels +2.20

7. Tim Merlier +2.24

8. Sven Nys +2.25

9. Rob Peeters +2.36

10. Vincent Baestaens +3.01

 

Overall standings:

1. Wout van Aert 6.12.10

2. Sven Nys +4.45

3. Kevin Pauwels +4.46

4. Tom Meeusen +4.48

5. Lars van der Haar +11.16

6. Sven Vanthourenhout +12.44

7. Rob Peeters +14.00

8. Philipp Walsleben +14.10

9. Joeri Adams +14.35