Results Cyclocross World Championships 2026 | HISTORIC van der Poel wins 8th rainbow jersey in Hulst; Del Grosso and Nys on the podium
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel has won the cyclocross world championships in Hulst. The Dutch rider has taken his eighth rainbow jersey in the men's elite category and with this, has become the rider to have taken the most titles in the discipline's history - taking down Erick de Vlaeminck's record which held for 53 years.
The run-up to the Hulst worlds' had given very clear signs: Van der Poel was the man to beat. The Alpecin - Premier Tech rider began his season in Namur with a victory, and has ended it in the same way. Throughout the winter, as was the case one year ago, there was not one race in which van der Poel was beaten, and rarely was he ever challenged. In the absence of Wout van Aert, there weren't ever high chances of anyone coming close to the Dutchman.
After comfortably winning the Maasmechelen and Hoogerheide World Cups last weekend, his form was spotless and after a start in the front row, van der Poel quickly positioned himself well. Tibor del Grosso took the holeshot and within three minutes of racing he, van der Poel and Thibau Nys would already have a gap over the rest of the field.
There was not much tension in the race as in the technical circuit of Hulst, slipstreaming and tactics were virtually non-existant. As soon as the defending champion hit the front on the second lap and began forcing the pace, the gap opened to his two main rivals. At the end of lap 2 the gap was already significant and it became clear he would not be caught unless he was to have a mishap.
Read also
Nys and del Grosso best of the rest
Van der Poel rode a spotless race where his biggest rival was himself, and comfortably rode to the finish line in Hulst to win the world title for an eighth time - and his fourth consecutive one in the discipline. Tibor del Grosso took second place and his first medal at the elite category, opening a gap in the final lap; whilst Thibau Nys rode to third.
After Lucinda Brand won the women's elite race and this morning Leonie Bentveld did in the women's under-23 race - as did Delano Heeren in the men's junior event - van der Poel completed a dream weekend for the Dutch.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- Mathieu and Wout!!! You must start in CX this winter! (hope you reading comments here...) ;-)averagecyclist12-11-2026
- Who made you site boss?Lozza12-11-2026
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- I preferred the one about amateur riders and passing (perhaps to explain why he can’t ride at 220 which would probably be more effective to return to shape).Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Not just ManU, far worse in some minority sports ventures.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- From your writing it sounds like you’ve been sharing your views with people here for quite a while, quite presumouptuous for a new profile.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Which is amazing given his weight and size, though, unlike in boxing and some rare instances we haven’t a clue what his fighting weight was. Anybody know why these “public” figures floated around are considered as being accurate?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was also going to say that young pretty women are obsessed Pogi fan girls... who are chasing him. All glossy "____" (blank) about Tadej. PS: You can all fill in the "blank" yourselves, whatever you prefer. The definition of glossy is: It looks unusually shiny, glazed over, watery, or vacant/unfocused.PogiSloFans12-11-2026
- Are you able to discuss ANYTHING without making a reference back to your Special 1? It’s almost as if you’re paid by his marketing team to improve his ranking in search results.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
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