Niels Vandeputte reflects on battle in World Cup Besançon: "I think the course was almost perfect for me"
Cyclocross
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."
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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.
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
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- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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