Road World Championship
Despite a fall in the rain: Van der Poel races to the World Cup throne
Triumphant in the rain in Glasgow: Mathieu van der Poel. photo
© David Pintens/Belga/dpa
A protest action on the country road, a slide in the rain and an exchange of blows on the streets of Glasgow: Mathieu van der Poel wins the title in a breathtaking world championship race.
As Mathieu van der Poel celebrated his personal triumph on George Square with a tattered jersey and bloody elbows, the classic car specialist had reached the goal of his dreams.
Undeterred by a violent crash on the slippery streets of Glasgow, the Dutch cycling star claimed the World Championship crown for the first time on Sunday and tearfully celebrated his personal happy ending a year after the nightmare at an Australian police station. In the world championship road race, which was overshadowed by a protest, van der Poel showed off his driving skills on the winding course through the Scottish industrial city and after 271.1 kilometers single-handedly won the rainbow jersey at the cycling world championship.
On the World Cup throne despite a fall
Van der Poel won in Glasgow’s maze of twists and turns by almost two minutes ahead of his Belgian rival Wout van Aert and Slovenian Tour runner-up Tadej Pogacar. He didn’t let himself be stopped by a fall 16.5 kilometers from the finish line when he slipped into the balustrades in a curve. However, the 28-year-old jumped back on the bike straight away and ultimately secured the first Dutch victory in 38 years. In 1985, Joop Zoetemelk triumphed in Giavera di Montella, Italy.
As expected, the German drivers played no role. Only John Degenkolb was able to present himself in the front field for a while, but in the end he had no chance. The long wait for the first German world title since Rudi Altig in 1966 continues.
For van der Poel, the grandson of the legendary Raymond Poulidor, it is the culmination of an outstanding season with victories at the cycling monuments Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix and the title at the cross-country championships.
Just a year ago, the World Championships in Wollongong had turned into a personal fiasco for MvP. The night before the street race, there had been an argument in the hotel corridor with two girls who kept knocking on his door. After some shoving, the police arrived. Van der Poel had to be at the station for a few hours and gave up after a sleepless night later in the race.
Decision 22 kilometers from the finish
The decision in front of several hundred thousand spectators came 22 kilometers from the finish when van der Poel made the decisive attack. Before that, the Italian Alberto Bettiol had been alone at the front for a long time when it started to rain before he was swallowed up by van der Poel’s group of favorites. Defending champion Remco Evenepoel had already had to be torn down.
On the 14.3-kilometre circuit in Glasgow with its 48 corners, there was a veritable elimination race. Prominent names were repeatedly left behind in the course of the race, including the two former world champions Peter Sagan (Slovakia) and Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) and the four-time Tour stage winner Jasper Philipsen (Belgium).
The six-man German team was quickly decimated in Glasgow. Nils Politt from Cologne, who had started the race as captain, was quickly left behind. “I had a flat tire at a pretty bad time, about 25, 30 kilometers before the lap on the hill,” said Politt. He still fought back, but the position wasn’t enough. Jannik Steimle and Nico Denz also got off their bikes early.
Before things got down to business in Glasgow, a protest by a Scottish environmental organization caused the race to be interrupted for almost an hour. Around 80 kilometers after the start in Edinburgh, demonstrators stuck to the asphalt on a country road in the Carron Valley, bringing the field to a standstill. Scottish police arrested five protesters. “It wasn’t a good time to stand on the street sweating for an hour,” said Politt.