Results Superprestige Heusden-Zolder | Del Grosso beats Van Aert in a photo finish!

After three straight wins for Mathieu van der Poel, the seven-time world champion chose to sit out Tuesday’s race: Superprestige Heusden-Zolder 2025. Without the Dutchman, parity looked likely, although Wout van Aert started as the favourite. The racing did not disappoint the spectators.

After the finish of the women’s race, and in the opening lap with Mathieu van der Poel absent, Tibor del Grosso moved to assume Dutch leadership on the day. He hit the front early. Felipe Orts followed closely in the lead group. Wout van Aert, meanwhile, had a trickier start and sat 14th. But there was a long way to go.

One lap later, the race tilted in Del Grosso’s favour as he and Swiss rider Kevin Kuhn led with 14 seconds over the chase group containing Orts, Van Aert and Thibau Nys, among others.

Sensing the danger, the Visma star attacked as soon as he could, a move that dragged the group closer until, on lap three, Wout van Aert had the two leaders in sight. Over the line to start lap four, the bunch regrouped, with Felipe Orts in the fight in sixth.

Lap five brought little change. Orts, Wout van Aert, Tibor del Grosso and Thibau Nys remained in a 10-strong front group contesting the day’s Superprestige win. The final four laps promised high drama.

A surge from Van Aert put the Belgian alongside Del Grosso at the head of the race, nine seconds clear of the group with Felipe Orts in third as the sixth and antepenultimate lap began. From there, the battle narrowed to Belgian versus Dutchman as their advantage grew too large for the chasers to close.

At the start of the penultimate lap, Van Aert and Del Grosso held more than 15 seconds on a trimmed secondary group of five, with Felipe Orts still in the mix but without Thibau Nys, who slipped back after several errors on the course. Up front, the Belgian kept testing the Dutchman but could not shake him. It would all be decided on the final lap.

The last lap opened with Wout van Aert and Tibor del Grosso head to head, and Felipe Orts attacking in pursuit of the podium. As expected, the win came down to a brilliant two-up sprint, where Del Grosso prevailed. Orts crossed the line in sixth.