Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) has had the upper hand in the battle of the big guns through the cyclocross season but today Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) beat the Belgian to victory at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Benidorm.
There was nothing to separate the duo - who pulled away from their rivals on the final lap - with Van der Poel negotiating the final section of the course better than Van Aert to nudge ahead. The final sprint to the line out of the last corner was so short that whoever led into it had a significant advantage.
Van der Poel made sure he did not relinquish the lead once he had taken it, and though Van Aert tried to pass him on the outside, Van der Poel hugged the barriers to his right, closing the door on his rival and ensuring a hard fought victory.
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Through the race, World Cup leader Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads), world champion Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) all mixed it at the front. However, that trio came into, and fell out of, contention as the Van Aert and Van der Poel pushed on and eased off in their two-man battle.
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In the end the trio was distanced, with Pidcock surprisingly putting up the least challenge in his last 'cross race of the season. And on the final lap, after Van der Poel and Van Aert rode clear, it simply came down to a battle of who handled the dry and technical finale better. Van der Poel was well worth the win, especially given how expertly he rode the sand sections today, putting Van Aert and the others under pressure there on every lap.
After the winner and runner-up, who finished on the same time after a tight sprint, Iserbyt took 3rd place at nine seconds with Sweeck in 4th place, some 20 seconds down. Pidcock, who looked like his heart wasn't quite in it today, placed 5th at 34 seconds.
In the women's race, Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma) took victory from Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) after a fantastic battle, every bit as exciting as the men's race.
While Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions) and Silvia Persico (Italy) were both in contention at the front, it always looked like a two-rider battle for victory between Van Empel and Pieterse, who finally pulled clear of the others on the final lap.
And on the technical run in, it was Van Empel - wrapping up overall victory in the World Cup - who nudged ahead and took it all the way to the line, with enough of a winning margin to celebrate her victory. Pieterse claimed 2nd at three seconds with Van Anrooij 3rd at 13 seconds and Persico 4th at 21 seconds.
