"I don't think I was the best in the sand" - Mathieu van der Poel victorious in Antwerp but not fully happy with his ride
Cyclocross
To the surprise of no-one, Mathieu van der Poel rode to victory this Saturday afternoon at the World Cup Antwerp, the fourth round of the competition. He has now gotten two wins in two weeks and is even moving up the standings quite a lot, however he wasn't fully satisfied with his ride over the sandy course.
Van der Poel's performance saw his victory as the obvious endgame of this Saturday's final race. Right from the start of the second lap he began to accelerate and leave behind his closest competitors. But Laurens Sweeck and Emiel Verstrynge - who eventually finished on the podium - were still quite far behind at this point in the race.
With Wout van Aert suffering a puncture and Thibau Nys completely out of the picture, there was no true competition throughout much of the race. Even a badly-timed puncture on the penultimate lap didn't see his gap come down in a threatening way.
"It was a good race but I don't think I was the best in the sand today," van der Poel said in a post-race interview. "I made a few mistakes in the longer sections, but I felt better than last week". The Namur course was guided towards the climbers and it proved to be a more difficult challenge. Today in the technical and explosive terrain, no-one could match the World Champion.
And for the first time, van der Poel has dominated a race this season. Something which should happen more often from today onwards. "The legs felt stronger, this is also a completely different course but I felt during the week that I was fresher than I was before Namur. I'm happy to win again," he concluded. Tomorrow he will be back in action for the fifth round of the World Cup, as the riders tackle another sand course in Koksijde.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
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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Magical Mathieu ✨🪄 Mathieu van der Poel dominates the Antwerp World Cup despite a rear wheel puncture in the closing laps. Wout van Aert, on his return to Cross, finishes seventh 🙌
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