Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) gave another masterclass in cyclo-cross racing and took his 101st major victory in the seventh race of the DVV Verzekeringen Trofee series in the campus grounds of Brussels University on Sunday. It was his 23rd victory of the cyclo-cross season, and University officials gave him a square academic cap as a winner’s hat. With world champion Wout van Aert opting to race in Brittany, France, Van der Poel faced little opposition on the technical-but-fast course. He made sure he lead the pack into an early descent through the trees and opened a gap on his rivals during the first lap. Telenet-Fidea’s Toon Aerts and Lars van der Haar, and Marlux-Bingoal pair Michael Vanthourenhout and Eli Iserbyt, tried to hold onto Van der Poel’s wheel but lost ground on every technical section and with every acceleration.ADVERTISEMENT Van der Poel’s win kept going, and his 45-second winning margin on Aerts extended his lead in the DVV Verzekeringen Trofee series. Van der Poel slowed in the final part of the race as he saved his legs and played with his riding technique. Vanthourenhout fought off the other riders to take third at 58 seconds, with Van der Haar fourth at 1:07.
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