Mathieu van der Poel's arrival in the 2024/25 cyclocross season has been as expected. The Dutchman has won the first 2 races he has contested quite easily. However, at the Zilvermeercross Mol on Monday, he was a bit more uncomfortable due to the large amount of sand.
In fact, Laurens Sweeck at times looked like he could snatch victory from the reigning six-time cyclocross world champion. Although in the end it was not the case, the Belgian left very satisfied with his performance.
"When I managed to get back on Mathieu on that sand strip, I had a good pace. I felt good, but very soon I realized I was going too fast," Sweeck said in words picked up by Wielerflits.
"I saw stars on his wheel. Some sand strips I caught very well, but in the intermediate sections he was clinging to the wheel," he added.
Sweeck had to get back into his rhythm at one point, due to a restart by Van der Poel. Still, he was able to hold the position and finish the race in second place - a more than decent result for Sweeck. "Last week, when Mathieu wasn't here, this would have been a win. But now it's a second place. But it was my third cross in three days, I can look back on it positively," concluded Laurens Sweeck.
Position | Name | Team | Time |
1 | VAN DER POEL Mathieu | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 59:41 |
2 | SWEECK Laurens | Crelan - Corendon | 1:03 |
3 | VANTHOURENHOUT Michael | Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal | 1:35 |
4 | WYSEURE Joran | Crelan - Corendon | 1:41 |
5 | VANDEPUTTE Niels | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 1:55 |
6 | VAN DER HAAR Lars | Baloise Trek Lions | 2:08 |
7 | KUHN Kevin | Charles Liégeois Roastery CX | 2:14 |
8 | ORTS LLORET Felipe | Ridley Racing Team | 2:29 |
9 | SOETE Daan | Ridley Racing Team | 3:18 |
10 | LOOCKX Lander | TDT Unibet | 3:24 |