Wout van Aert also won the Superprestige cyclo-cross in Diegem on Wednesday in front of his home crowd. The Belgian beat Tom Pidcock in the final sprint. Mathieu van der Poel finished third at a suitable distance. In the women’s category, Puck Pieterse was supreme and led an entire Dutch podium.
Van Aert created a gap from the competition in the first round, together with Van der Poel, Pidcock and Eli Iserbyt. The quartet stayed together for a while, but after an attack by the Dutchman, Iserbyt had to withdraw.
‘The Big Three’ had a half-minute lead in no time, so it was immediately clear they were going to race for the win. On lap four, Van der Poel accelerated onto a strip of sand and drove alone for a while, but Van Aert and Pidcock didn’t give him much room.
In round six, Van der Poel held back for a while, allowing his two competitors to reunite. Shortly after, Van Aert attacked on the strip of sand and took a lead of about ten seconds.
Due to a material problem for Van Aert, the other two were able to rejoin, but Van der Poel soon had to leave a gap again. Pidcock stayed with the Belgian and the two were eventually cleared to ride for the win. Van Aert was clearly the strongest in that sprint. Van der Poel finished third after more than half a minute and suffered his first defeat in Diegem in his eleventh participation.
Van Aert was also the strongest on Tuesday at the Superprestige cross at Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. Then he beat Van der Poel in the final sprint. On Boxing Day, the Dutchman triumphed at the World Cup in Gavere, Belgium.
Superior Pieterse leads the Dutch women’s podium
In the women’s event, Pieterse pulled away from the competition early in the contest and had a fifteen second lead after the first round. Shirin van Anrooij then chased and narrowed the gap slightly.
Twenty-year-old Pieterse didn’t let the gap fall below seven seconds and drove flawlessly to the first Superprestige win of her career. Van Anrooij was second at exactly half a minute and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado was third just over a minute away.
Inge van der Heijden completed the Dutch success by finishing fourth. Championship leader Denise Betsema retired due to a problem with her clipless pedal and could not go beyond eighth position. As a result, Betsema lost her position as leader in the Superprestige standings to Alvarado.
Fem van Empel did not participate in Diegem. The Brabant woman, who is in a class of her own this season, fell hard last weekend at snow cross in Val di Sole, Italy. She will no longer compete in competitions this calendar year.
