You owe it to yourself to cycle Wout van Aert. Divine justice, karma. Call it whatever you want. a fateful one Tire damage in the last Paris-Roubaix deprived the Belgian of the fight until the end Mathieu van der Poel for the victory over the paved French monument, and although the scale is not the same, this Sunday the Belgian healed his wounds with a mild triumph in the Cyclocross World Championships in Benidorm. Van Aert not only took revenge for that, but also for what happened here last year against his arch-rival, when he retired in the final spurt due to a position that needed improvement. This time he succumbed to nothing, not even one Last lap accident that silenced Belgian fans the loudest of the 17,000 people who gathered for the test. Coincidentally, the same mishap minutes earlier ended Van der Poel's options (he was fifth). Life.
There was a last-minute script change that wasn't planned. And so much Van Aert and Van der Poel came into conflict right from the start, which forced them to come back from the early stages of the race. More tension. Also for the Spanish fans, whose hearts beat faster when they saw it Felipe Orts in eighth place. Then sixth. And in the second round… third! Until then it is The leadership had changed hands several times, between men like Sweeck and Ronhaar. until the storm broke…
And not exactly from heaven. Van Aert took action and this led to the first selection of “Roosters” being formed. Group of six, led by the Belgian and finally, from less to more, Van der Poel. Pidcock and Orts became chasers in the second group. Minutes later, just one unexpected guest wanted to question the Belgian and Dutch duopoly: Thibau Nys. The son of a legend, capable of both the best and the worst, stayed in his wake, but as soon as Van der Poel attacked on the climb, he gave up. Only Van Aert responded to the order. The eternal duel was over.
One plus one equals seven
Everything pointed to us seeing a head-to-head duel between the two giants from the halfway point of the race, but nothing could be further from the truth. Their enormous equality has made them take their foot off the accelerator Two guests joined the party: Vanthourenhout and Pidcock. The four speculated and the leading group grew with the arrival of Iserbyt, Nys, Vandebosch and Orts. Then it happened… At the exit of the sandbank, Van der Poel fell to the ground, a circumstance that Van Aert took advantage of to attack on the climb and separate the wheat from the chaff. Only Vanthourenhout could follow him. Van der Poel, tenth with about 20 seconds, He said goodbye with one lap to go.
Everything has been resolved, but they say that without suffering there is no victory. As Van Aert was on his way to victory, the hearts of the Belgian fans, larger than those of the Dutch, skipped a beat. Shortly after passing the zone of Van Aert fell while walking on the planks and getting back on the bike. Vanthourenhout came closer, but the Belgian, who finished the shot without glasses, had too much of a lead to be defeated at the last moment. The podium was completed by Iserbyt (6 points away from overall World Cup victory) with a brutal inside attack on Nys in the final sector Orts was happy about eighth place, improving his 2023 result by one place. Benidorm had its cyclocross festival. And with style.
MotoGP Van Empel, Queen Alvarado
The elite women's race was superior in terms of excitement. Of course, the best have already enforced their law in the first phases. So much Puck Pieterse when Fem van Empel pressed Ceylin Alvarado, who lost contact with her Dutch compatriots several times. The top two speculated for most of the race, allowing Alvarado to join them at the start of the final lap. Ceylin tried to attack them by surprise, but on the climb he finally abandoned his options due to his rivals' change of pace.
Finally, Van Empel, world champion, took victory thanks to an interior worthy of MotoGP in the final section of the circuit and in which he lightly touched Pieterse. To the extreme, but nothing criminal. The prize for endurance went to Alvarado, who demonstrated his endurance mathematically Overall victory in the World Cup due to lack of evidence (Hoogerheide, January 28).
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