Mathieu van der Poel dominates the mud and cold of the Besançon World Cup

Not even the intense cold of Besançon intimidated the superiority of a Mathieu van der Poel who achieved his fifth consecutive victory in his particular cyclocross season this Sunday, the third within the World Cup circuit after the wins in Zonhoven and Gavere within a week. Mathieu Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) retained the overall lead despite a bad first part of the race.

Van der Poel offers his most serious version in the Besançon World Cup

Another exhibition by Mathieu van der Poel on the slippery mud of Besançon. On a circuit prone to errors and adverse conditions of cold and even ice in some sections, the world champion completed a race as solid as serious, with hardly any mistakes, continuing his flawless streak of victories since his debut in Zonhoven just a week ago.

The Dutchman from Alpecin-Deceuninck, in the news in the days leading up to the race for traveling to France in a private jet, took the lead during the final part of the second of the seven laps on a traditionally fast circuit that runs through comfortable meadow sections. However, the ice and cold forced much more careful maneuvering than usual to avoid falls. In that scenario, Van der Poel got rid of a good Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens) before the second pass through the finish line to then manage a lead of around half a minute over his immediate pursuers.

Vanthourenhot salvaged a bad day in the World Cup

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The race in Besançon could have ended up being a key round in the resolution of the World Cup. A fall by Michael Vanthourenhout shortly after the start, near the first set of stairs, and a couple of subsequent incidents relegated the overall leader to beyond the fortieth position. Somewhat nervous at the beginning, the Belgian gradually found his rhythm to recover many positions in the final part and finish in seventh place, at least saving the day, especially considering that his main rival, his compatriot Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens), found his best form to finish second ahead of the also Belgian Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

Early slide out for Vanthourenhout

Gets caught up and quickly finds himself all the way back in 39th position! A lot of work to do now to work his way through the traffic! #CXWorldCup #FLCS pic.twitter.com/k5IYoQVcvt

— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) December 29, 2024

Inverse trajectories for two other standouts in Besançon. Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) made a phenomenal comeback to reach fourth place despite a very poor start. On the contrary, Felipe Orts (Ridley Racing Team) closed the top 10 after a fantastic start, even reaching second place at one point.

Cyclocross will return on Monday in Diegem for the sixth round of the Superprestige, where neither Van der Poel nor Wout van Aert will participate, although the Alicante native Felipe Orts will. The world champion will return on New Year's Day at the GP Sven Nys de Baal, valid for the X2O Badkamers Trophy; while the Visma | Lease a Bike Belgian will compete in two races in Gullegem on January 4 (Superprestige) and Dendermonde on the 5th (World Cup), coinciding with his main rival in the latter.

Besançon World Cup Standings

1st Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 1h'04'57"
2nd Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens) at 20"
3rd Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) at 36"
4th Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) at 49"
5th Joran Wyseure (Crelan-Corendon) at 58"
6th Thomas Mein (Hope Factory) at 1'10"
7th Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) at 1'17"
8th Kevin Kuhn (Charles Liégeois Roastery) at 1'26"
9th Michael Boros (Elkov-Kasper) at 1'35"
10th Felipe Orts (Ridley Racing Team) at 1'44"

Fem van Empel's Superiority in the Women's Elite Race

The world champion left no chance for her opponents in the eighth round of the World Cup dominated by the Visma | Lease a Bike woman. Just like last Thursday in Gavere, Van Empel delivered an almost perfect race in Besançon, opening up a gap over the rest from the first of the five laps completed on the circuit.

However, Lucinda Brand's new second place and, above all, Van Empel's absence in the scoring rounds of Hulst and Zonhoven mean that the Baloise Trek Lions cyclist remains at the top of the overall standings with a lead of over 40 points awarded for each victory.

Also noteworthy is the performance of two other women in France. On one hand, the third place of Hungarian Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime), achieving her first top 10 of the season after a series of positions within the top 10; and on the other hand, the return to racing of Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) with a meritorious fifth place after two years away from the discipline.

Besançon World Cup Standings

1st Fem van Empel (Visma | Lease a Bike) 52'45"
2nd Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) at 37"
3rd Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) at 1'02"
4th Zoe Backstedt (Canyon/SRAM) at 1'51"
5th Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike) at 1'53"
6th Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck) at 1'57"
7th Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) at 2'09"
8th Marion Norbert Riberolle (Crelan-Corendon) at 2'25"
9th Célia Gery (AS Bike Racing) at 2'29"
10th Hélène Clauzel (Van Rysel CX) at 2'40"