Mathieu van
der Poel
wrapped up his 2024 cyclocross campaign in dominant fashion, winning
the World Cup Besançon. The rainbow jersey wearer finished ahead of Toon Aerts,
who claimed second place, and
Niels Vandeputte, who secured third.
After the
race, Vandeputte reflected on his performance, sharing his thoughts with the
cameras, "I think I rode a good cross," the 24-year-old said. "I
had a good start. I moved up to third place pretty quickly. Then I thought I
would close the gap to Mathieu and Toon, but then Mathieu just put in his
acceleration. I didn’t see him again. I was still able to close the gap to
Toon."
Despite his
efforts, Vandeputte acknowledged the difficulty of staying with Aerts, "I
was hoping to stay with Toon a bit longer, but I made a few mistakes here and
there. After that it was hard to close the gap. I tried a few times, but I
think Toon was just a bit stronger. To then finish on the podium with him and
Mathieu is something I can be happy with."
Vandeputte
also commented on the technical nature of the course, which suited his
strengths, "It was a very technical lap. I think you could compare the lap
a bit with that of Hulst, but Hulst was a bit more dangerous. But they were
both very technical. I enjoy such courses, also with roots and such. I think
the course was almost perfect for me."
Whilst Van
der Poel is a long way in the distance, Vandeputte can certainly be happy with
his very strong performance this weekend in France.