Mathieu van der Poel has won his final cyclocross of 2024 at the World Cup Besancon with yet another commanding display from the rainbow jersey wearer, defeating second place rider Toon Aerts, and Niels Vandeputte in third.
At the end of the first lap, Toon Aerts crossed the line first with Mathieu van der Poel lurking ominously on his wheel, with Felipe Orts a further seven seconds behind. And for much of the first 2 laps, Aerts was able to ride with the world champion, but when Van der Poel turned it on he very quickly pulled a gap.
At the end of lap 4, Van der Poel had a lead of 19 seconds from Toon Aerts and 26 seconds from Niels Vandeputte. Behind the leader, Eli Iserbyt climbed his way through the field after an incident filled lap one, but found himself back up fifth by lap 5. Iserbyt even managed to clock the same lap time as Van der Poel on the sixth lap, which shows how strong is legs were today.
Van der Poel had such a lead on lap 6 that he began to pull some tricks off whilst on the pump track early in the lap. Still, Aerts was not as far off the champion as many have been throughout this winter, as he finished 'just' 20 seconds behind.
But it's becoming more and more clear, that without bad luck Mathieu van der Poel will ease to his record equalling seventh cyclocross rainbow jersey, when the world championships come around in early February. Van der Poel just has more power, skill and talent than anyone else right now, but what can the rest of the field possibly do to close the gap? Next up for the field is the Superprestige Diegem, with that race taking place tomorrow.
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Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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