There may have been complaints and concerns last week - including from legend Sven Nys - about the sheer amount of cyclocross appearance money Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel are mopping up, but their impact on the sport is very clear to see.
Related News
While cyclocross has been extremely popular in parts of Europe for many years - especially in Belgium - the crowds turning out to see the Van Aert (Jumbo Visma) and Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) are nothing short of remarkable as the video (above) and photos (below) from the Zonhoven World Cup yesterday reveal.
Van Aert was again the star of the show, claiming another victory after mastering the sand sections, where Van der Poel crashed. The fact the Dutch rider has been feeling pain in his back again did not help his cause, though Van Aert has been too good for his rival this season, beating him by 1:23 yesterday.
Advertisement
Laurens Sweeck (Crelans-Fristads), the World Cup leader, took the final place on the podium after winning his battle with European champion Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal).
Like Van Aert in the men's race, Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions) claimed victory in the women's event after she handled the sand sections, including a tricky descent, really well as those around her came a cropper.
Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma), who have been so impressive of late, both crashed in the sand and had to settle for 2nd and 3rd places yesterday.
Photos by Kristoff Ramon
