Mathieu van der Poel waited until halfway into the race to accelerate away from a five-rider lead group to claim his third consecutive win at the sixth round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Koksijde on Sunday. The win was his fifth career triumph at the Koksijde World Cup and extended his remarkable cyclocross winning streak to 15 races.<\/p>\n
Just like Saturday\u2019s win in Antwerp, no one could match the world champion\u2019s pace as he powered away on the course known for its difficult and long sand sections.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n A lead group consisting of Van der Poel and his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Tibor del Grosso, Niels Vandeputte, Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens CX Team) and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) pulled away after the first two laps, with Netherlands champion Del Grosso setting the pace the majority of the time. Van der Poel made a few moves which were closed down by Sweeck, whose superb sand skills allowed him to keep close tabs on the pre-race favourite.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n But, it wasn\u2019t enough to keep Van der Poel\u2019s power and skills in check as he surged away on the fourth lap, growing his gap lap after lap as he raced towards the finish line.<\/p>\n In a three-way battle for the two remaining podium places, Sweeck got the better of Vandeputte to take second place, crossing the line seven seconds behind Van der Poel, who slowed down to watch the battle over his shoulders.<\/p>\n After a mistake, Del Grosso was slightly gapped on the bell lap and finished fourth. European champion Aerts came in solo in fifth place.<\/p>\n More to come….<\/p>\n