Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) doesn't often need luck, but at the Citadel of Namur, he needed patience to exploit a rare error from his rivals. In his first race of the 2025-26 season, the World Champion took victory only after Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions) slid out of the lead on the final lap.
Results
Namur - Namur • Dec 14
| Pos | Rider | NATNationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 |  Mathieu van der Poel | NED | 0:58:29 |
| 🥈 |  Thibau Nys | BEL | +0:09 |
| 🥉 | Michael Vanthourenhout | BEL | +0:11 |
| 4 | Lars van der Haar | NED | +0:12 |
| 5 | Emiel Verstrynge | BEL | +0:42 |
| 6 | Niels Vandeputte | BEL | +0:53 |
| 7 | Pim Ronhaar | NED | +0:55 |
| 8 | Joris Nieuwenhuis | NED | +0:57 |
| 9 | Witse Meeussen | BEL | +1:14 |
| 10 | Toon Vandebosch | BEL | +1:29 |
| 11 | Jente Michels | BEL | +1:38 |
| 12 | Toon Aerts | BEL | +1:44 |
| 13 |  Mattia Agostinacchio | ITA | +1:46 |
| 14 | Tibor del Grosso | NED | +1:53 |
| 15 |  Felipe Orts Lloret | ESP | +2:05 |
| 16 | Laurens Sweeck | BEL | +2:11 |
| 17 | Joran Wyseure | BEL | +2:15 |
| 18 |  Kevin Kuhn | SUI | +2:18 |
| 19 | Victor van de Putte | BEL | +2:20 |
| 20 |  Martin Groslambert | FRA | +2:25 |
| 21 | Mees Hendrikx | NED | +2:32 |
| 22 | Danny van Lierop | NED | +2:39 |
| 23 | Théo Thomas | FRA | +2:51 |
| 24 | Nathan Bommenel | FRA | +3:03 |
| 25 | Kay de Bruyckere | BEL | +3:08 |
| 26 |  Thomas Mein | GBR | +3:12 |
| 27 | Rémi Lelandais | FRA | +3:15 |
| 28 | David Menut | FRA | +3:20 |
| 29 | Filippo Agostinacchio | ITA | +3:27 |
| 30 |  Michael Boroš | CZE | +3:55 |
| 31 | Stefano Viezzi | ITA | +4:04 |
| 32 | Antoine Jamin | BEL | +4:11 |
| 33 | Mario Junquera San Millan | ESP | +4:17 |
| 34 |  Bailey Groenendaal | DEN | +4:23 |
| 35 | Ryan Kamp | NED | +4:36 |
| 36 | Keije Solen | NED | +4:59 |
| 37 | Nicolas Bard | SUI | +5:48 |
| 38 |  Max Heiner Oertzen | GER | +6:15 |
| 39 |  Andrew Strohmeyer | USA | +6:25 |
| 40 | Lars Sommer | SUI | +6:36 |
| 41 | Senna Remijn | NED | - |
| 42 | Carden King | USA | - |
| 43 |  David Risberg | SWE | - |
| 44 |  Lennox Papi | LUX | - |
| 45 | Silas Kuschla | GER | - |
| 46 | Luca Harter | GER | - |
| 47 |  Jacob Turner | NZL | - |
| 48 |  Liam Sargent | CAN | - |
| 49 | Finn Westover | USA | - |
| 50 | Rhett Bates | CAN | - |
| 51 | Frederick Junge | USA | - |
| 52 | Lukas Herrmann | GER | - |
| 53 |  Artur Nichvolodov | UKR | - |
The Duel on the Citadel
This was no solo procession. Starting from the third row, Van der Poel slipped at the gun, plummeting to 22nd before the first hairpin. By the end of lap two, however, order was restored: Van der Poel had bridged to the front, joining a formidable Baloise block of Nys, Lars van der Haar, and Terralba winner Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez).
For seven laps, the race was a stalemate of high-tension attrition. Nys, backing up his status as the new benchmark, applied immense pressure on the technical off-cambers, forcing Van der Poel to chase repeatedly.
Decisive Moment
The deadlock broke only in the final kilometres. Leading into the treacherous off-camber descent on Lap 9, Nys clipped a hidden stone and slid into the ditch.
- The Error: Nys lost approx. 5 seconds remounting.
- The Response: Van der Poel, sitting second, immediately opened the throttle on the final cobbled climb.
- The Result: A 9-second gap at the line, with Vanthourenhout nearly catching a recovering Nys for second.
Analysis
"I made an early decision to wait until the end," Van der Poel admitted post-race. Lacking his signature explosive punch – evident in his conservative mid-race lap times – he relied on a diesel engine to match the Baloise accelerations.
For Baloise Glowi Lions, this is a bitter missed opportunity. They had the numbers – placing three riders in the top eight – and Nys looked in contention for 55 minutes. Yet, on Namur's unforgiving clay, one technical slip neutralised their tactical advantage. Nys retains the World Cup lead, but the psychological blow of handing Van der Poel a win on a silver platter will sting.
