Last Sunday Wout van Aert (BE) became world champion cyclo-cross of male elite cyclists. After an exciting competition on the muddy course, he had an advantage of 5 seconds at the finish on European champion Lars van der Haar (NL).
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Kevin Pauwels (BE) won bronze. Sven Nys (BE), who is in his last season, ended 4th at the age of almost 40, just before retrieving world champion Mathieu van de Poel (NL).
For Wout van Aert, who recently turned 21, this world title was the crowning glory of a highly successful season. Earlier this year he was also crowned Belgian cyclo-cross champion.
The Belgian male up-and-coming talents were also successful: the victory went to 18-year-old Eli Iserbyt, who surpassed the Czech cyclist Adam Toupalik.
The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships took place in Heusden-Zolder on 30 and 31 January. Despite the heavy rainfall, no less than 60,000 spectators flocked to Terlaemen to cheer on their favourite riders during the two-day event.
