Laurens Sweeck almost manages to upset Mathieu van der Poel in Mol: "Without him I would have won the race"

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.