Mathieu van der Poel left nothing to chance at the cyclo-cross world championships in Liévin, France. The Dutchman took his first step early in the race to claim a record-tying seventh world championship gold, a feat only achieved by Eric De Vlaeminck.
Starting from the fourth row, Wout van Aert (Belgium), who crashed on the first lap, losing 46 seconds and briefly dropping to 37th place, eventually took silver, 45 seconds behind van der Poel. He tried to make up the difference alone in front of 35,000 spectators, but failed. The bronze went to reigning European champion Thibau Nys, who lost more than a minute to the winner.
"The title means a lot to me because I made history. This record has stood for a very long time," said van der Poel. "When you start in the elite category, you hope to win at least one gold, but I never thought I would become a seven-time world champion. This is something special. Yesterday's U23 race confirmed once again that the best tactic is often to go ahead and do your own thing. Especially on such a difficult course, where it is difficult to put your feet on the pedals. Riding in a group would have been even more difficult. I had a good start and I feel very good. I wanted to make a big success quickly so that the motivation of the pursuers would drop. That plan worked. On the opening lap, my front tire went flat and then I asked for more pressure and was very careful."
Van der Poel has the opportunity to become the sole leader in the men's World Cup titles in front of his home crowd in Hulst next year, while among women, Dutchwoman Marianne Vos has become world champion eight times.
🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈 @mathieuvdpoel
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) February 2, 2025
7 x Men Elite UCI Cyclo-cross World Champion
📸 @gaetan_sportpic #Lievin2025 pic.twitter.com/bBnrlo8U3l
Wout van Aert makes a move on the finish straight! 💥
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) February 2, 2025
He is really applying the pressure now to see if he can do anything to close the gap on the leader. Nieuwenhuis is keeping him in check behind.
Lap 4️⃣ / 8️⃣ and MVDP is clear with +45s. #Lievin2025 pic.twitter.com/T1wfTZ8CkY
Joris Nieuwenhuis 🆚 Thibau Nys
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) February 2, 2025
The battle for 🥉 is heating up between these two with two laps to go. Nothing it it.
Domination from MVDP, who has a +1:05 gap on WVA. #Lievin2025 pic.twitter.com/xRBq389F54
Laurens Sweeck gets caught out on the corner! 🤸♀️
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) February 2, 2025
A close battle for the podium right now with a strong🇧🇪 group of Sweeck, Vanthourenhout, Nys, Verstrynge, plus an outnumbered 🇳🇱 Nieuwenhuis. #Lievin2025 pic.twitter.com/z0WVZWkMst
Crowd are ready, riders are ready!
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) February 2, 2025
Time to go out with a bang at the 2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships at #Lievin2025 pic.twitter.com/51Y5I3Z62j
