Tibor del Grosso had a terrific ride on Sunday in Hulst, in his first world champs in the elites. The young Dutchman took the silver medal behind countryman Mathieu van der Poel–and he did it with style.

Early on, he took the hole shot, setting the tone early in the 2026 UCI cyclocross world championships.

He then matched Mathieu van der Poel and forced Belgian Thibau Nys to chase. As van der Poel began to distance the younger duo, del Grosso remained composed, shadowing Nys which kept him in contention for the silver.

The battle with Nys

“It was very special to ride on Sunday, with all the spectators, and to finish second behind a phenomenon. It was incredible ,” del Grosso afterwards to Wielerflits. “I was happy that the three of us got away right away. That made the race a bit easier for us. I definitely tried to follow Mathieu, but was he  too strong.”

Through slick, rut-filled conditions, del Grosso showed off both strength and his technical skills. On the penultimate lap, with van der Poel already ahead, del Grosso capitalized on Nys’ mistakes in the rain to secure the silver medal.

“That was pretty intense with Thibau and me. We were evenly matched,” he said. “We both had sections where we were a bit better. I might have had a slight advantage when it started raining at the end. Because I think I had a bit more tread on my tires. I was happy he made a mistake on the last lap”.

Just a day earlier, after doing a final recon of the race, Del Grosso–who is very active (and often quite funny) on X, asked a question which would clearly be resolved for race day.

The bridge jump

“Why is there no camera on the last and only jumpable bridge? It makes no sense,” he posted.

Van der Poel, on the other hand, approached the bridge with a solid gap, but this time he held back.

Unlike his typical showmanship, he left nothing to chance in pursuit of the record. He didn’t get air on the ramp—except accidentally on the steep climb thanks to his sheer power—and he skipped hopping the barriers, something he normally loves to do.

Del Grosso, however, who may very well be the heir apparent to van der Poel, did go for it. Check it out below.