Mathieu van der Poel has won the Cyclo-cross World Championships title for the second time in his career after he dominated the entire race and easily beat the other favourite of the day, Wout van Aert.
The elite men’s race saw Van der Poel and Van Aert led from the first bit of dirt, the course having dried in the wind. In the third lap, the Dutchman attacked in the hardest part of the course while Van Aert’s back wheel slipped.
The three-time World Champion was capable of catching Van der Poel but the second part of the race proved particularly hard for the Belgian and the Dutch rider could take advantage of that.
Van der Poel extended his advantage with each passing lap and won his second world title. Van Aert come through and claim silver, still some distance behind the new Dutch world champion.
Cyclo-cross World Championships 2019 – Elite Men results:
| 1 | Mathieu Van Der Poel (Netherlands) | 1:09:20 |
| 2 | Wout Van Aert (Belgium) | +16” |
| 3 | Toon Aerts (Belgium) | +25” |
| 4 | Michael Vanthourenhout (Belgium) | +50” |
| 5 | Laurens Sweeck (Belgium) | +01’01” |
| 6 | Lars Van Der Haar (Netherlands) | +01’10” |
| 7 | Quinten Hermans (Belgium) | +01’24” |
| 8 | Marcel Meisen (Germany) | +01’29” |
| 9 | Jens Adams (Belgium) | +01’31” |
| 10 | Gianni Vermeersch (Belgium) | +01’33” |
