Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert’s Long-Awaited Duel in Namur – Full Results, Photos, Video

In the most anticipated race of the 2020/2021 cyclocross season, Tom Pidcock (Trinity Racing), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Fenix) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) did their part to overdeliver excitement and drama at the Citadel of Namur.

Van der Poel, coming off a rare defeat at Superprestige Gavere, has looked human in his return, even when victorious. Winning half your races is impressive for any pro racer, except for the king of cyclocross, who lost only one race the entire season last year.

Pidcock promised to climb above his dominant ride in Gavere, on a course that suits him. The young Brit put on a show in 2019, with a podium finish behind the epic Toon Aerts and Van der Poel battle.

Meanwhile, Van Aert and road cycling fans were impatiently waiting for the return of the head-to-head battle of the two multi-discipline superstars. The last time the two lined up against each other, on pavement and cobbles, it came down to inches.

Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal Teammates Eli Iserbyt and World Cup leader Michael Vanthourenhout also pledged to keep podium spots within sight.

Could Toon Aerts (Telenet Baloise Lions) overcome flashbacks of rib injuries and repeat his performance in last season’s race of the year?

Pressure by Pidcock

When the lights turned green, typical fast starter Van der Poel, starting from the second row, was quickly swarmed, and soon it was the World Cup leader’s jersey in Vanthourenhout at the front.

The white and red jersey wearer soon was seeing red, as Pidcock took to the front and showed his win in Gavere was no fluke. He put the pressure on the chasers, and it started to show. Van der Poel slipped out in a root-filled corner, Van Aert dismounted early in a tricky drop, and Vanthourenhout’s tire couldn’t take the pressure. Fortunately for the series leader, it was just before the pits.

Van der Poel didn’t look like his dominant self. After his brief slip in the corner, the World Champ was content to sit on wheels while Pidcock pulled away.

Sadly, Iserbyt could never contest the win. The Belgian suffered a broken chain on the opening stretch and was left running for a new bike. He would finish 31st and be pulled.

Down to Three

Pidcock looked determined to crack his rivals. While the three behind routinely went in for bike changes each lap, Pidock pedaled past and extend his lead. It appeared to be a successful strategy, as with three laps to go, he had stretched his lead to 11 seconds.

Could the Brit make it two weeks in a row?

Vanthourenhout was the first chaser to pop, leaving rivals Van Aert and Van der Poel the chance to work together and bring back victory.

Van Aert kept his rival on the defensive. Riding past a running Van der Poel, the Belgian looked the stronger of the two, and ready to avenge his Flanders loss.

Suddenly, a riding Pidcock showed that staying on the bike is not always faster. As the Brit pounded the pedals up a tricky climb, Van Aert and Van der Poel made the connection on foot.

Teriffic Two to Go

On the penultimate long dirt climb before the ramped right-hand carpeted turn, Van der Poel took to the front, accelerated up the red carpet, and gapped his companions.

Van Aert tried to match the effort, but Pidcock was caught overgeared and outmatched on the penultimate lap. The Brit would lose 11 seconds on the eighth lap and see his chances of victory fade away as the two superstars prepared for another sequel in their storybook rivalry.

The World Champ was finally in control, and had the daylight he needed. Van Aert was deep in déjà vu in second, while Pidcock was also back in a familiar position, riding to third and watching a victorious Van der Poel for the second year in a row.

North American Curtis White (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) finished 28th, on the lead lap. Canadian Michael Van den Ham (Easton Giant p/b TLC) finished 40th. Andrew Giniat finished 60th and Jule Van Kempen in 62nd.

2020 UCI Cyclocross World Cup Namur Results - Elite Men

Rank	BIB	Rider	Nation	Age	Result	Points
1	1	VAN DER POEL Mathieu	NED	25	1:03:59	200
2	22	VAN AERT Wout	BEL	26	1:04:02	160
3	59	PIDCOCK Thomas	GBR	21	1:04:10	140
4	16	VANTHOURENHOUT Michael	BEL	27	1:05:06	120
5	17	HERMANS Quinten	BEL	25	1:06:08	110
6	2	VAN DER HAAR Lars	NED	29	1:06:16	100
7	15	AERTS Toon	BEL	27	1:06:52	90
8	23	SOETE Daan	BEL	26	1:06:56	80
9	3	VAN KESSEL Corne	NED	29	1:07:24	70
10	4	KAMP Ryan	NED	20	1:07:30	60
11	5	NIEUWENHUIS Joris	NED	24	1:07:45	58
12	19	VERMEERSCH Gianni	BEL	28	1:07:48	56
13	42	DUBAU Joshua	FRA	24	1:07:51	54
14	21	AERTS Thijs	BEL	24	1:07:57	52
15	28	KUHN Kevin	SUI	22	1:08:00	50
16	26	KIELICH Timo	BEL	21	1:08:02	48
17	10	HENDRIKX Mees	NED	20	1:08:29	46
18	25	VANDEBOSCH Toon	BEL	21	1:08:46	44
19	14	SWEECK Laurens	BEL	27	1:08:53	42
20	52	ORTS LLORET Felipe	ESP	25	1:09:04	40
21	67	MEISEN Marcel	GER	31	1:09:19	39
22	29	RÜEGG Timon	SUI	24	1:09:26	38
23	61	TURNER Ben	GBR	21	1:09:34	37
24	24	SWEECK Diether	BEL	27	1:09:41	36
25	40	MENUT David	FRA	28	1:09:46	35
26	36	BOROŠ Michael	CZE	28	1:09:48	34
27	60	MEIN Thomas	GBR	21	1:09:51	33
28	33	WHITE Curtis	USA	25	1:11:29	32
29	68	WEBER Sascha	GER	32		31
30	7	GODRIE Stan	NED	27		30
31	13	ISERBYT Eli	BEL	23		29
32	43	GRAS Yan	FRA	24		28
33	30	ROUILLER Loris	SUI	20		27
34	53	SUAREZ FERNANDEZ Kevin	ESP	26		26
35	48	LELANDAIS Rémi	FRA	18		25
36	31	MOTTIEZ Gilles	SUI	23		24
37	9	RONHAAR Pim	NED	19		23
38	8	VAN DER HEIJDEN Maik	NED	23		22
39	32	LILLO Dario	SUI	18		21
40	56	VAN DEN HAM Michael	CAN	28		20
41	47	GUILLAUD Valentin	FRA	23		19
42	49	RICHARD ANDRADE Florian	FRA	18		18
43	46	MORICHON Mathieu	FRA	25		17
44	12	AGTERBERG Kyle	NED	21		16
45	37	ŘÍMAN Jakub	CZE	20		15
46	57	SAMPARISI Nicolas	ITA	28		14
47	55	CULLELL ESTAPE Jofre	ESP	21		13
48	66	MCGUIRE Rory	GBR	18		12
49	6	VAN DER POEL David	NED	28		11
50	44	DUBAU Lucas	FRA	24		10
51	39	VANÍČEK Šimon	CZE	21		5
52	38	MAYER Daniel	CZE	23		5
53	58	SAMPARISI Lorenzo	ITA	27		5
54	63	STOCKWELL Oliver	GBR	18		5
55	64	BARNES Daniel	GBR	18		5
56	54	JUNQUERA SAN MILLAN Mario	ESP	23		5
57	45	PHILIBERT Aurélien	FRA	25		5
58	71	CONROY David	IRL	22		5
59	70	HAUSSLER Heinrich	AUS	36		5
60	34	GINIAT Andrew	USA	29		5
61	65	COUZENS Tom	GBR	19		5
62	35	VAN KEMPEN Jules	USA	18		5
	41	CHAINEL Steve	FRA	37		DNF
	62	BARNES Toby	GBR	20		DNF
	11	VAN DIJKE Tim	NED	20		DNF