Fourteenth race, thirteenth victory.
This 2023-2024 cyclo-cross season was a formality for Mathieu van der Poel.
Well above the rest in each event, only beaten by Wout van Aert in Benidorm at the end of January after a nasty fall, the Dutchman concluded his winter with a world title this Sunday in Tabor, in the Czech Republic.
As usual, the man who is also world road champion took control of the race from the first lap and isolated himself in the lead.
Only his compatriot Joris Nieuwenhuis remained at a reasonable distance for a few laps, before also giving in to the power of Raymond Poulidor's grandson.
After the fourth of six laps, he was already almost 40 seconds behind.
Behind the phenomenon and his compatriot, both lonely, the battle for third place was tough.
While a third Dutchman, Pim Ronhaar, seemed to have taken the lead in the first part of the race, it was ultimately Michael Vanthourenhout who won this bronze medal, saving the Belgians' record during this race, dominated by their Dutch counterparts.
Another Belgian, Eli Iserbyt, however, completes the top 5. The first Frenchman, Clément Venturini, is in 16th place, 3′34″ behind the winner.
At 29 years old, Mathieu van der Poel won his sixth cyclo-cross world title this Sunday, the seventh in all disciplines combined.
At the dawn of an important season, during which he hopes to win a fifth Monument, the Dutchman has already proven that he is in insolent form, almost too good given the many objectives that await him, including the Olympic mountain bike event in sight.
But before thinking about that, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider can savor, he has further established his domination over his great rival, Wout van Aert, in the plowed races.