22/12/2023

Mathieu van der Poel dominant at Exact Cross Mol with Wout van Aert a distant second

Mathieu van der Poel has taken a dominant victory at Exact Cross Mol. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was clearly the best of the field as Wout van Aert and Niels Vandeputte complete the podium

It didn't take long for the cream to rise to the top with both Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel leading the way after lap 1. On lap 3, the leading duo were joined by Quinten Hermans but on lap 4, van der Poel launched an attack, leaving behind his teammate and van Aert.

Just as van der Poel looked to be really riding clear though, a mechanical issue for the Dutchman allowed van Aert to pull back slightly. With three laps to go though, van der Poel held over 30 seconds on van Aert with Hermans having dropped away completely and Niels Vandeputte in third. By the time the final lap began, the gap between the two superstars was over a minute in favour of the Dutchman. With little drama to the line, that's how it finished van der Poel from van Aert from Vandeputte.