Mathieu van der Poel took his 16th consecutive win to wrap up the final junior UCI World Cup round
Mathieu van der Poel claimed his first ever victory at the race organised by his father, GP Adrie van der Poel, in Hoogerheide.
He finished 20 seconds ahead of Anthony Turgis to claim the top position in the final round of the Junior UCI World Cup.
Quentin Jauregui was further 11 seconds behind at the third position, with Silvio Herklotz and Wout Van Aert securing the fourth and fifth spots.
French rider, Anthony Turgis was looking good for the top podium position but Van der Poel had just enough in his legs to claim his 16th victory of the season.
The 17-year-old has a success rate of almost 85%, missing out on only three UCI junior races. His most recent performance to conclude the UCI World Cup Junior round is the most important one, as it was organised by his dad.
He stated, "It's really special to win here. My dad organizes this event so I gave it my best. It's the first time because last year I was out with a broken collarbone".
Van Der Poel was riding amongst the two French riders, Anthony Turgis and Quentin Jauregui, in the final lap.
Belgian rider, Wout Van Aert also joined the French to keep a close eye on Van Der Poel.
The trio managed to keep the Dutch cyclist within a reasonable range but things changed during the third lap.
Turgis launched his attack earlier and gained in on Mathieu. The lead was cut down to only 7 seconds during the final two laps.
The race winner explained, "I think I started to ride a bit too defensively, once he started to gain ground on me it's a bit stressful because you here everybody shouting warnings and time gaps. From the penultimate lap on I rode much more aggressive and
that worked out well".
Van der Poel was keeping a close eye on the situation, he launched himself at just the right time to claim a 20 seconds lead over Turgis.
Mathieu Van Der Poel is now leading the final standings of the Junior World Cup round, with 240 points in his pocket.
French duo of Quentin Jauregui and Romain Seigle are holding the second and the third spots, with 153 and 145 points, respectively.
Tags: