Van der Poel is already a six-time Cyclocross World Champion

Van der Poel takes the victory in the 2024 World Cyclocross Championship. The Dutchman turned the race into a perpetual attack that earned him the sixth rainbow. Nieuwenhuis stayed in the fight during the early stages, although he ended up fighting to preserve a meritorious silver against a Vanthourenhout who was third.

 

Van der Poel shows off to win the 2024 World Cyclocross Championship

The world event started with strict punctuality under the clouds of Tabor. The 52 riders uncorked the race with a clean start. Van der Poel took on the challenge of breaking the illusions of anyone who dreamed of overshadowing him and set a great pace from the start. Vandeputte was the only one who withstood the early onslaught, although he soon gave in and lost contact.

The early stages served to stretch the group and mark the first differences. Nieuwenhuis emerged as the only one capable of withstanding the pedaling of a Van der Poel who soon sank his compatriot into a five-second hole. The negative note was for the Swiss Ruegg, victim of a mechanical breakdown that forced him to dismount and walk to the assistance area.

The riders encountered a wet circuit loaded with a muddy grass that proposed a tough race; the wind put the icing on a day in which every meter of mud had to be battled with skill and kidney blows.

Van der Poel wanted to break the deck from the beginning, unlike the conservative strategy of the first laps of other occasions. However, Nieuwenhuis rebelled against the tyranny of the Orange Beast and both fought a duel several seconds apart. The balance remained balanced while the cushion increased with those coming from behind.

The following minutes consolidated the head positions, although fatigue began to take its toll and Nieuwenhuis began losing visual contact as the clock advanced. Further back, Vanthourenhout and Ronhaar were fighting a beautiful battle for third place; Van der Haar -after a bad start-, Nys and Iserbyt did the same in the fifth.

Van der Poel continued to torture the pedals at an unmatched pace. The Dutchman opened the jar of essences and subjected Nieuwenhuis to a bleeding of seconds. The defender of the rainbow traced without errors and transmitted apparent freshness on the bike, while Vanthourenhout presented himself as a real threat to Nieuwenhuis's silver. 

On the other hand, Felipe Orts closed the third lap together with Boros, Venturini, Meeussen and Adams in the fight for the eighth position.

Vanthourenhout passed the trimmer and saw Nieuwenhuis's orange dot growing larger and larger. Ahead, Van der Poel continued to rule with an iron leg. Bad luck visited a Van der Haar with a chain break that ended his options, shortly before Funston suffered a fall that left him visibly in pain.

Despite the doubts, Nieuwenhuis pulled out all the stops to protect second place. Vanthourenhout's plan crumbled when the Dutchman regained the pulse of the race and was able to start the last lap with some tranquility. The penultimate lap also watered down a Felipe Orts who had to grit his teeth to withstand the farewell of his traveling companions, who were moving away in the distance.

Van der Poel consumed the last kilometers with the authority of one who reigns without opposition. The Dutchman squeezed his quadriceps and faced the finish line to certify the victory in the 2024 World Cyclocross Championship; the forecasts were fulfilled and he won the sixth rainbow. Almost perfect season -thirteen victories in fourteen races- to stay just one World Championship away from De Vlaeminck's record.

 

Nieuwenhuis knew how to suffer and recomposed himself with a good finish to conquer a great silver -first medal in the Elite category-. For his part, Vanthourenhout put Belgian honor on the third step of the podium.

Felipe Orts was the best Spaniard and closed a great campaign with a splendid tenth position. The world event also served to put an end to the career of the legend Zdenek Stybar, who said goodbye to the mud in front of his compatriots.

2024 Tabor World Cyclocross Championship - Men's Elite

1. Mathieu Van der Poel (Netherlands) 58'14"
2. Joris Nieuwenhuis (Netherlands) +37"
3. Michael Vanthourenhout (Belgium) +1'06"
4. Pim Ronhaar (Netherlands) +1'36"
5. Eli Iserbyt (Belgium) +2'08"
6. Jens Adams (Belgium) +2'21"
7. Michael Boros (Czech Republic) +2'29"
8. Witse Meeussen (Belgium) +2'35"
9. Thibau Nys (Belgium) +2'44"
10. Felipe Orts (Spain) +2'48"