Mathieu van der Poel laid out his relentless dominance from the very outset of World Cup round nine on icy Zonhoven to win solo in 59:36. He took over the overall lead as the World Cup jersey changed shoulders from Thibau Nys, who crashed out of contention.
Elite Men Results
Zonhoven • Jan 4
| Pos | Rider | NATNationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Mathieu VAN DER POEL | NED | 0:59:36 |
| 🥈 | Tibor DEL GROSSO | NED | +0:45 |
| 🥉 | Emiel VERSTRYNGE | BEL | +1:03 |
| 4 | Niels VANDEPUTTE | BEL | +1:18 |
| 5 | Toon AERTS | BEL | +1:18 |
| 6 | Michael VANTHOURENHOUT | BEL | +1:40 |
| 7 | Joris NIEUWENHUIS | NED | +1:45 |
| 8 | Felipe ORTS LLORET | ESP | +1:56 |
| 9 | Pim RONHAAR | NED | +2:04 |
| 10 | Mees HENDRIKX | NED | +2:15 |
| 11 | Ryan KAMP | NED | +2:24 |
| 12 | Michael BOROŠ | CZE | +2:31 |
| 13 | Filippo FONTANA | ITA | +2:33 |
| 14 | Jente MICHELS | BEL | +2:35 |
| 15 | Joran WYSEURE | BEL | +2:46 |
| 16 | Lars VAN DER HAAR | NED | +2:51 |
| 17 | Kevin KUHN | SUI | +3:04 |
| 18 | Gerben KUYPERS | BEL | +3:08 |
| 19 | Thibau NYS | BEL | +3:22 |
| 20 | David MENUT | FRA | +3:29 |
| 21 | Aubin SPARFEL | FRA | +3:45 |
| 22 | Léo BISIAUX | FRA | +4:06 |
| 23 | Toon VANDEBOSCH | BEL | +4:15 |
| 24 | Guus VAN DEN EIJNDEN | NED | +4:17 |
| 25 | Rémi LELANDAIS | FRA | +4:20 |
| 26 | Keije SOLEN | NED | +4:23 |
| 27 | Nathan BOMMENEL | FRA | +4:25 |
| 28 | Max Heiner OERTZEN | GER | +4:47 |
| 29 | Stefano VIEZZI | ITA | +4:56 |
| 30 | Henry COOTE | USA | +5:18 |
| 31 | Marek KONWA | POL | +5:24 |
| 32 | Mario JUNQUERA SAN MILLAN | ESP | +6:16 |
| 33 | Lars SOMMER | SUI | +6:26 |
| 34 | Théo THOMAS | FRA | +6:35 |
| 35 | Bailey GROENENDAAL | DEN | +6:35 |
| 36 | Fabian EDER | GER | +6:36 |
| 37 | Dylan ZAKRAJSEK | USA | +7:07 |
| 38 | Jules SIMON | FRA | +7:35 |
| 39 | Matyáš FIALA | CZE | +8:08 |
| 40 | Floris HAVERDINGS | NED | - |
| 41 | David RISBERG | SWE | - |
| 42 | Jakub ŘÍMAN | CZE | - |
| 43 | Ryan DRUMMOND | USA | - |
| 44 | Noah SHELTON | USA | - |
| 45 | Silas KUSCHLA | GER | - |
| 46 | Vilmer EKMAN | SWE | - |
| 47 | Florian HAMM | GER | - |
| 48 | Jonas KÖPSEL | GER | - |
| 49 | Aidan VOLLMUTH | USA | - |
| 50 | Jacob TURNER | NZL | - |
| 51 | Liam SARGENT | CAN | - |
| 52 | Jules VAN KEMPEN | USA | - |
| 53 | Cody SCOTT | CAN | - |
| 54 | Edoardo BOLZAN | ITA | - |
| 55 | Calvin CONAWAY | USA | - |
| 56 | Rhett BATES | CAN | - |
| 57 | Remi BRISEBOIS | CAN | - |
| 58 | Beau GUENTHER | USA | - |
| 59 | Ayato TAJIMA | JPN | - |
| 60 | Vilmar AASTRUP | SWE | - |
| 61 | Dovydas LUKŠAS | LTU | - |
| 62 | Patrick FRANK | USA | - |
| 63 | Yuta OKAYAMA | JPN | - |
| 64 | Dries BRUYNSEELS | SVK | - |
| 65 | Kosuke ENDO | JPN | - |
Van der Poel in his own race
Van der Poel established a lead from the first dive into De Kuil. He took the holeshot, attacked the opening sand descents without touching the brakes and over the first half-lap the Dutchman opened up daylight on the field. His lap times do some of the talking – after establishing the gaps, he sat between 7:22 and 7:24 for the majority of the race, maintaining a consistent pace aside from a single slower circuit on lap three.
Behind, only teammate Tibor Del Grosso could stabilise the damage, eventually riding clear of the rest to finish at +45s. Emiel Verstrynge completed the podium at +1:03, holding position as gaps opened behind.
Nys’s crash flips the World Cup
The key moment came on lap 4. Nys, racing in the leader’s jersey and still within around 20s of Van der Poel, hit ice on a slick corner, slammed into the barriers and snapped his handlebars. A long run (and some scooting while carrying his right shifter) and bike change dropped him out of the podium fight; he never came back, finally crossing the line 19th at +3:22.
With Laurens Sweeck already sidelined by injury and Wout van Aert absent after his Mol crash, Zonhoven became a straight points grab. Van der Poel leaves with maximum score and the World Cup lead; Nys dropped from first to second in the overall standings.
Analyse the key race data with our in-depth lap time comparison visualisation below:
Sand, ice and late moves
The heavy sand and frozen ruts steadily forced a selection as the race wore on.
Niels Vandeputte proved strongest in the closing stages, uncorking the fastest final lap of the day at 7:21 to edge Toon Aerts in the fight for fourth.
Behind them, Michael Vanthourenhout gradually slipped back to sixth as the repeated efforts through the De Kuil took their toll.
Van der Poel now leads the World Cup with three rounds remaining.
Cover image - Van der Poel in Zonhoven in 2024. credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
