Wout van Aert was the winner of round #12 of the UCI World Cup in Zonhoven, Belgium on Sunday. Mathieu van der Poel finished second @1:23, while Laurens Sweek, the current World Cup leader, finished 3rd @ 1:31.
How It Happened
Laurens Sweek led the field from the start in this 8 lap race, followed by Van der Poel, Van der Haar, and Vanthourenhout. Not far behind was Van Aert in 7th position. With the exception of Van der Haar, these four riders would be the leaders for the remainder of the race.
Over the next laps, Van der Poel and Van Aert exchanged the lead until Van der Poel hit a rut on lap 3 in a sandy section and went down. Van Aert immediately took over the lead and powered away, while Van der Poel was caught by the two chasers, Sweek and Vanthourenhout.
With Sweeck and Vanthourenhout racing for the overall World Cup title, it was left to Van der Poel to take the initiative in trying to catch Van Aert. As the riders entered lap 4, it was clear that Van Aert was not going to be caught by the chase group unless he mad an error. Over the final laps, Van Aert was able to extend his lead over the chasers and easily take the victory. Meanwhile, Van der Poel played the waiting game until the end of lap 6 before he made his move against Sweeck and Vanthourenhout and rode away to take 2nd place. Sweeck was able to get the better of Vanthourenhout in the final laps and finished in 3rd, half a minute ahead of Vanthourenhout.
Like the Elite Women, the Elite Men’s race was one of survival. While the men may have ridden the descents better, due to their heavier weight, only 28 riders out of 46 starters finished on the same lap as the winner. The American, Scott Funston, was the 28th rider to finish on the same lap as the winner @7:37.
