Van der Poel wins brilliantly in Besançon in the run-up to the World Championships in Hoogerheide

Van der Poel shows his best and wins without problems in Besançon. The Dutchman closes this edition of the CX World Cup with an important victory just one week before the World Championship in Hoogerheide. The podium was completed by Sweek and Nieuwenhuis, who climbed the podium for the second time in his career in the competition.

Van der Poel takes fifth CX World Cup win of the season in Besançon

The only one of the Magnificent Three on the scene today was the fastest in the first metres and took the lead. A moderate pace was imposed in the early stages of the race, which prevented a leading group from forming.

French national champion Venturini was the first to close a first lap in which everyone seemed to be saving their strength. The Frenchman, encouraged by the fact that he was racing at home, pushed the pace. Even so, he did not manage to distance himself from his pursuers. Van der Poel, for his part, was riding sixth at the back of the leading group, which then consisted of seven riders.

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The third lap passed without major changes. The front group grew again, with no one able to make a significant difference. It was then that positions were swapped: Kuhn took over the lead, Van der Poel moved into second and Nieuwenhuis into third.

Iserbyt took the lead at the start of the fourth lap. With the Belgian at the front the group stretched out, although the gap was insignificant. Van der Poel, until then in the background, decided it was a good time to break away.

The Orange Beast squeezed his muscles and opened a big gap in just a few metres of attack. An attack that found no reply from Iserbyt, Venturini, Nieuwenhuis and company. Van der Poel had time to put 15 seconds into them at the end of the lap.

Van der Poel's lead continued to grow and was up to 23 seconds by the time he crossed the finish line. Meanwhile, the second group of eight riders suggested that it was going to be a close battle for the podium. Sweek, who had been missing until then, changed the pace and managed to split the group, although Iserbyt and Khun were able to hold off the attack.

The seventh lap started with Van der Poel with half a minute margin in his pocket. Sweek's attack was neutralised, although the Belgian stayed ahead. And so it was with two laps to go: Van der Poel in front and, 52 seconds behind, nine riders who were playing for the other two podium places.

The gap increased to one minute at the last stage. It was a decisive moment for the fight for the podium, waiting for someone to attack. Iserbyt opened a gap and Sweek pushed to close it. But Iserbyt had a problem in a corner and lost the position to his compatriot, who was now definitively distanced from the rest of the riders.

Van der Poel completed a great race with a clear victory. Behind him, Sweek reached the finish line second. With the incident, Iserbyt lost several positions and said goodbye to his podium chances. Nieuwenhuis put in a great performance, winning the duel with his rivals and finishing third.

Besançon CX World Cup - Elite Men's

1. Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +1h01'33"
2. Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads) +49"
3. Joris Nieuwenhuis (Baloise Trek Lions) +52"
4. Clément Venturi +52"
5. Niels Vandepute (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +53"
6. Ryan Kamp (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) +53"
7. Kevin Kuhn (Tormans Cyclo Cross Team) +1'
8. Gerben Kuypers +1'03"
9. Michael Boros +1'04"
10. Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) +1'17"

Pieterse is unchallenged and takes victory

Without some of the top riders, Besançon presented an opportunity for a great result for those women less accustomed to the top positions. Schreider struck the first blow by taking the lead. Behind her, Pieterse, Worst and Vas, while US champion Clara Honsinger was involved in a crash and retired.

Pieterse moved into the lead but soon after her chain came off. The Dutchwoman had to move off the line to put it back on and lost a valuable 19 seconds to the leader. Although there was still a long way to go, the favourite had lost a significant gap to the front.

Worst was leading a five-rider group in the first part of the second lap. By the pit lane Pieterse had already reduced the gap to 10 seconds with Vas, Worst, Schreider, Backstedt and Van der Heijden.

Pieterse completed the comeback shortly after. With her, other riders joined the lead group, which then consisted of a large group of ten riders.

Even so, the group was stretching out further and further. A splendid Pieterse decided to push on despite the effort. The pace was so high that she soon left behind those riders who had withstood the initial onslaught. Van der Heijden and Worst were behind, but they already lost 5 seconds.

The fourth lap started with Pieterse leading with an iron fist, 8 seconds ahead of Worst and Van der Heijden. The race then followed the same logic: the leader increased the gap, while the two chasers stayed together.

Pieterse crossed the finish line to start the penultimate lap 20 seconds ahead of Van der Heijden and Worst. With no further news, he completed the turn and headed into the final lap with a 25-second margin.

The race ended smoothly and Pieterse finished in first place to take her fourth World Cup win of the season. The win means she finishes second overall with 390 points, five points behind Van Empel. 

In the end, Worst beat Van der Heijden for the second step of the podium and crossed the finish line 37 seconds behind the winner. Backstedt (4th) completed a great race in which at some point she seemed to get close to the 777 riders to fight for the podium.

Besançon CX World Cup - Elite Women's

1. Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 45:21
2. Annemarie Worst (777) +37"
3.  Inge Van der Heijden (777) +43"
4. Zoe Backstedt +1'02"
5. Blanka Kata Vas +1'09"
6. Marie Schreiber (Tormans Cyclo Cross Team) +1'10"
7. Manon Bakker (Crelan-Fristads) +1'10"
8. Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) +1'11"
9. Hélene Clauzel (AS Bike Racing) +1'18"
10. Marion Norbert Riberolle (Crelan-Fristads) +1'24"