Tibor Del Grosso savours beating ‘childhood hero’ Wout van Aert for first win in an elite cyclocross series

Dutch cyclocross champion Tibor Del Grosso savoured beating his “childhood hero” Wout van Aert to take his first victory in an elite series ‘cross race on Tuesday, outsprinting the Belgian to win the fifth round of the Superprestige series in Heusden-Zolder.

The 22-year-old led the way at the front of the race along with the Belgian two laps from the end of the eight-lap race, setting up a tense cat-and-mouse battle on the run to the finish line.

The two-time reigning under-23 cyclocross world champion scored seven under-23 wins last winter, and now he’s added an elite Superprestige win to his tally, beating Van Aert as well as other top pros Michael Vanthourenhout and Thibau Nys.

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“This is really cool. I was pretty calm in the final. Because we had a good lead, I could play poker. I was surprised Wout didn’t start his sprint earlier. The shorter the sprint, the better for me,” he said after the race, according to Het Nieuwsblad.

“With all that crowd, I managed to extend my sprint a bit. When it comes to prizes, I can always give something extra. I was determined to fight for the win today.

“Did my road experience help me today? Not really, because I think the guy I was riding with at the front has a bit more experience. It might be less fun for Wout to collide with another Alpecin rider, but I’m especially happy with this victory.”