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De Jong and van der Poel win Caubergcross round of UCI World Cup

Van der Poel cracks Van Aert, Sophie de Boer back in World Cup lead

October 23, 2016
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World champion Thalita de Jong (The Netherlands) won Sunday’s testing Caubergcross round of the UCI cyclocross World Cup in Valkenburg, the Netherlands. Dutchman Mathieu Van der Poel broke Belgian Wout van Aert’s early domination of the 2016-2017 World Cup, his triumph an echo of victories in the final four rounds of last year’s World Cup after coming back from injury.

The 2.9-km laps began and ended on the Cauberg climb. Valkenburg was the third of nine rounds of the World Cup.

The women departed first. De Jong edged ahead right off the bat, with CrossVegas winner Sophie de Boer joining her in the lead by the end of the first lap. Belgian Sanne Cant, Lucinda Brand (the Netherlands), Ellen Van Loy (The Netherlands) and American Amanda Miller reached them on Lap 2, with Katie Antonneau (USA) the nearest chaser.


Miller, Cat and van Loy were left behind by the other twice on Lap 3 but a crash took van Loy out of the hunt. On the penultimate lap de Jong pulled ahead and led compatriot de Boer by 16-seconds on the fifth and bell lap.


Cant pushed across to join de Boer while de Jong continued to pad her lead. De Boer dispatched Cant for the runner-up spot and now leads the World Cup standings.

In the men’s race Dutchman Lars Van der Haar took the hole shot after the gun, leading a long, strung-out procession into the forest. World Champion van Aert took over the front halfway through Lap 1. The two close-set run ups–first a hill and then stairs–failed to create a selection and van der Haar and Van Aert continued at the front. Only fifteen seconds separated the top-20 after Lap 1.

Van Aert, Van der Haar, and Belgians Michael Vanthourenhout, Tom Meeusen and Kevin Pauwels nosed ahead at the beginning of Lap 2. Van der Haar crashed on a corner and was left behind. Soon Vanthourenhout was van Aert’s only companion and then van Aert was alone, leading a quintet of chasers by 12-seconds after the second lap.


Dutch champion Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank) became the closest chaser on Lap 3, with Pauwels, Toon Aerts, Meeusen and Vanthourenhout 21-seconds in arrears of him.

Van der Poel pulled his great rival back on Lap 4. Meanwhile, the quartet of chasers edged nearer, 5-seconds back at the end of the lap.

At the beginning of Lap 5 there was a leading group of five: van Aert, van der Poel, Meeusen, Pauwels and Vanthourenhout. Pauwels fell off a bit and just as he got back van der Poel attacked, prying open a gap. With two laps remaining the Dutchman’s lead over the pursuing Belgians was five-seconds. A crash involving van Aert and Meeusen gave van der Poel more air to breathe.

At the beginning of the bell lap van der Poel led his nearest chaser Vanthourenhout by 17-seconds, with van Aert and Meeusen 27-seconds back. Van Aert then left Meeusen to try to run down Vanthourenhout, nicking him in the final 500-metres.

There were no Canadians at the Valkenburg round of the World Cup.

The next round is November 20 in Koksijde, Belgium.

2016 UCI Cyclocross World Cup Valkenburg Elite Women
1) Thalita de Jong (The Netherlands/RaboLiv) 41:59
2) Sophie de Boer (The Netherlands) +0:26
3) Sanne Cant (Belgium) +0:35

2016 UCI Cyclocross World Cup Valkenburg Elite Men
1) Mathieu van der Poel (The Netherlands/Beobank) 1:05:13
2) Wout van Aert (Belgium/Crelan-Vastgoedservice) +0:14
3) Michael Vanthourenhout (Belgium/Marlux-Napoleon Games) +0:21