Mathieu van der Poel reacts after dominant display at Azencross Loenhout: "My saddle was broken"

Mathieu van der Poel delivered another commanding performance at the Azencross Loenhout, securing victory while his rival, Wout van Aert, endured a challenging day and finished in fourth place.

Van der Poel's form this season has been nothing short of impeccable, with this win marking his fourth cyclocross victory out of four starts. Despite the comfortable outcome, the Dutchman admitted the race was far from straightforward.

“It was difficult to make the difference,” Van der Poel said.

The race was not without its challenges for Van der Poel, who experienced a fall and had to contend with equipment issues. “My saddle was broken, which meant I had to change bikes. But Sweeck also rode strongly, I certainly didn’t let him return. After that, I just had to keep doing my thing and then I could extend my lead a bit further. And that worked out well,” he explained.

Van der Poel noted the tricky nature of the course and the conditions that made the race particularly gruelling. “It was a difficult race, it wasn't easy to make the difference. It's a course where it's difficult to really ride much faster than someone else, because then you quickly make mistakes. But I think it's a nice lap. Furthermore, I had cold hands for the first time. So it was definitely the toughest cross so far, especially after the tough cross yesterday.”