Results Exact Cross Mol | Mathieu van der Poel survives winter chaos as Van Aert crash ends anticipated duel

The men’s Exact Cross Mol promised another defining chapter in the rivalry between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, but extreme winter conditions ultimately turned the contest into a battle of survival rather than supremacy.

From the opening lap, the expected protagonists asserted themselves at the front. Van Aert rode assertively and appeared comfortable in the snow-covered opening sectors, while Van der Poel adopted a more probing approach, testing his rivals with repeated accelerations rather than committing to an all-out move. Toon Aerts briefly set the tempo, with Felipe Orts alert enough to stay in touch as the quartet began to separate from the rest.

The first decisive moment came midway through the race when Van Aert faltered twice in the sand, allowing Van der Poel to open a gap of around fifteen seconds. That advantage looked ominous, but the race twisted again shortly after. While attempting to warm his hands in the freezing conditions, Van der Poel crashed heavily in the snow, momentarily disrupting his rhythm. Despite the fall, the world champion recovered quickly and still posted the fastest lap of the race, allowing Van Aert to claw his way back into contention.

By the end of the fourth lap, the anticipated duel was fully restored, with the pair crossing the line together to the delight of the crowd. However, the renewed confrontation proved brief.

In the sixth lap, disaster struck. Van Aert crashed heavily on a slick section of asphalt, slamming into the barriers and hitting the frozen ground hard. Although he remounted, his discomfort was immediately evident. Moments later, he drifted into the material post and abandoned the race, limping away as team staff attended to him.

With Van Aert’s withdrawal, the race lost its central tension. Spectators began to filter away as conditions worsened, and the remaining laps became a grim test of control and endurance.

Van der Poel pressed on alone, negotiating the increasingly treacherous course with caution rather than aggression. Even for the world champion, the final laps were a measured exercise in damage limitation rather than domination.

He eventually crossed the line to secure an eighth victory from eight starts this winter, ahead of Aerts and Orts, completing a performance defined as much by resilience as by raw strength in one of the harshest races of the season.