Updated: Read our full race report and see photos and results from the 2017 World Cup Waterloo
If last year was the year of a the beautiful duels between Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank Corendon) and Wout van Aert (Crelan Charles Veranda’s Willems), this year appears to be the season of beautiful van der Poel time trials.
Van der Poel repeated his Jingle Cross World Cup performace today in Waterloo, sprinting furiously to get the holeshot, and the shedding his competiton soon after the first corner.
By the Factory Hill run-up, the 2015 World Champion already had 12 seconds, and after two laps, it was a whopping 31 seconds. On the opening laps, Van der Poel took a conservative approach, running the stairs and staying grounded on the flyovers, but just three laps in, he was airing it off the flyover and hopping the stairs.
Behind, a peloton of riders took up the chase, with American Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz / Donkey Label) putting on a display of aggression to sit in tenth, and move up to fourth before fading back.
While Van der Poel ticked off the laps, the pack of chasers started to split, eventually settling on Corne van Kessel (Telenet Fidea), Tim Merlier (Crelan Charles Veranda’s Willems), Daan Soete (Telenet Fidea) and Michael Vanthourenhout (Marlux Napoleon Games).
With two Telenet-Fidea racers in the battle for second, the Trek-sponsored racers had the numbers to secure a podium spot.
Soete and Van Kessel seemed content to have Merlier lead them through the final lap, but then Soete pushed forward to lead Van Kessel through the final half lap.
Meanwhile, up front, Van der Poel was pouring water over his head and contemplating his finishing salute.
Merlier looked to have the most energy to contest the race for second, but slid out on the final descent to see his chances at second disappear.
Van Kessel would outsprint his teammate Soete for second, with Vanthourenhout coming in fourth.
American Stephen Hyde finished in 18th.
Stay tuned for our full report and results. See our ever-growing coverage from the weekend in Waterloo here.
2017 Waterloo World Cup Elite Men’s Brief Results:
- Mathieu van der Poel
- Corne van Kessel
- Daan Soete
- Michael Vanthourenhout
- Tim Merlier
- Kevin Pauwels
- Wout van Aert
- Toon Aerts
- Quinten Hermans
- Tom Meeusen
2017 World Cup Waterloo Results - Elite Men
| Pl | Bib | Racer | TEAM | NAT | YOB | Gap | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | VAN DER POEL Mathieu | BEOBANK-CORENDON | NED | 1995 | - | 80 |
| 2 | 21 | VAN KESSEL Corne | TELENET FIDEA LIONS | NED | 1991 | +0:33 | 70 |
| 3 | 12 | SOETE Daan | TELENET FIDEA LIONS | BEL | 1994 | +0:33 | 65 |
| 4 | 4 | VANTHOURENHOUT Michael | MARLUX - NAPOLEON GAMES | BEL | 1993 | +0:38 | 60 |
| 5 | 9 | MERLIER Tim | CRELAN - CHARLES | BEL | 1992 | +0:44 | 55 |
| 6 | 2 | PAUWELS Kevin | MARLUX - NAPOLEON GAMES | BEL | 1984 | +0:49 | 50 |
| 7 | 1 | VAN AERT Wout | CRELAN - CHARLES | BEL | 1994 | +0:53 | 48 |
| 8 | 6 | AERTS Toon | TELENET FIDEA LIONS | BEL | 1993 | +1:00 | 46 |
| 9 | 7 | HERMANS Quinten | TELENET FIDEA LIONS | BEL | 1995 | +1:09 | 44 |
| 10 | 5 | MEEUSEN Tom | BEOBANK-CORENDON | BEL | 1988 | +1:15 | 42 |
| 11 | 15 | ISERBYT Eli | MARLUX - NAPOLEON GAMES | BEL | 1997 | +1:16 | 40 |
| 12 | 25 | CHAINEL Steve | TEAM CHAZAL CANYON | FRA | 1983 | +1:29 | 39 |
| 13 | 24 | BOROS Michael | PAUWELS SAUZEN - VASTGOEDSERVICE | CZE | 1992 | +1:40 | 38 |
| 14 | 13 | BAESTAENS Vincent | BECKERS NV | BEL | 1989 | +1:52 | 37 |
| 15 | 14 | VANTHOURENHOUT Dieter | MARLUX - NAPOLEON GAMES | BEL | 1985 | +1:56 | 36 |
| 16 | 18 | BOSMANS Wietse | ERA-CIRCUS | BEL | 1991 | +2:00 | 35 |
| 17 | 22 | VAN DER HAAR Lars | TELENET FIDEA LIONS | NED | 1991 | +2:04 | 34 |
| 18 | 27 | HYDE Stephen | Cannondale p/b Cyclocross World | USA | 1987 | +2:10 | 33 |
| 19 | 10 | AERNOUTS Jim | TELENET FIDEA LIONS | BEL | 1989 | +2:15 | 32 |
| 20 | 11 | ADAMS Jens | PAUWELS SAUZEN - VASTGOEDSERVICE | BEL | 1992 | +2:20 | 31 |
| 21 | 3 | SWEECK Laurens | ERA-CIRCUS | BEL | 1993 | +2:24 | 30 |
| 22 | 23 | GODRIE Stan | CRELAN - CHARLES | NED | 1993 | +2:24 | 29 |
| 23 | 26 | BOULO Matthieu | FRA | 1989 | +2:37 | 28 | |
| 24 | 53 | MEISEN Marcel | STEYLAERTS - BETFIRST | GER | 1989 | +2:47 | 27 |
| 25 | 19 | AERTS Thijs | TELENET FIDEA LIONS | BEL | 1996 | +3:00 | 26 |
| 26 | 28 | WERNER Kerry | Kona | USA | 1991 | +3:11 | 25 |
| 27 | 29 | ORTENBLAD Tobin | Santa Cruz / Donkey Label | USA | 1994 | +3:27 | 24 |
| 28 | 54 | FIELD Ian | GBR | 1986 | +3:49 | 23 | |
| 29 | 45 | VAN DEN HAM Michael | GARNEAU-EASTON P/B TRANSITIONS LIFECARE | CAN | 1992 | +3:57 | 22 |
| 30 | 8 | VERMEERSCH Gianni | STEYLAERTS - BETFIRST | BEL | 1992 | +4:07 | 21 |
| 31 | 42 | CHANCE Maxx | USA | 1996 | +4:12 | 20 | |
| 32 | 36 | CLARK Anthony | Squid | USA | 1987 | +4:22 | 19 |
| 33 | 37 | PETROV Spencer | ASPIRE RACING | USA | 1998 | +4:36 | 18 |
| 34 | 56 | MILLBURN Garry | MAAP | AUS | 1987 | +4:48 | 17 |
| 35 | 16 | PEETERS Rob | PAUWELS SAUZEN - VASTGOEDSERVICE | BEL | 1985 | +4:52 | 16 |
| 36 | 41 | LINDINE Justin | Apex / NBX | USA | 1984 | +4:55 | 15 |
| 37 | 30 | WHITE Curtis | Cannondale p/b Cyclocross World | USA | 1995 | +5:02 | 14 |
| 38 | 32 | DRISCOLL James | Donnelly | USA | 1986 | +5:12 | 13 |
| 39 | 40 | DILLMAN Andrew | Green | USA | 1994 | +5:27 | 12 |
| 40 | 39 | HECHT Gage | AEVOLO | USA | 1998 | +5:46 | 11 |
| 41 | 33 | LIVERMON Travis | Maxxis Shimano | USA | 1988 | +6:04 | 10 |
| 42 | 51 | HOLMGREN Gunnar | GARNEAU-EASTON P/B TRANSITIONS LIFECARE | CAN | 1999 | +6:10 | 9 |
| 43 | 34 | KRUGHOFF Allen | Specialized | USA | 1984 | +6:21 | 8 |
| 44 | 46 | MCCONNELL Mark | Hot Sauce Cycling | CAN | 1988 | +6:40 | 7 |
| 45 | 38 | DURRIN Jeremy | Neon | USA | 1988 | 6 | |
| 46 | 17 | SWEECK Diether | ERA-CIRCUS | BEL | 1993 | 5 | |
| 47 | 49 | ST JOHN Derrick | CAN | 1977 | 4 | ||
| 48 | 47 | RICHEY Craig | GARNEAU-EASTON P/B TRANSITIONS LIFECARE | CAN | 1984 | 3 | |
| 49 | 48 | O'DONNELL Trevor | CAN | 1996 | 2 | ||
| 50 | 52 | SANDERSON Brody | CAN | 1999 | 1 | ||
| 51 | 50 | ZANDSTRA Derek | CAN | 1984 | |||
| 52 | 58 | NAKAZATO Masaru | JPN | 1992 | |||
| 31 | POWERS Jeremy | ASPIRE RACING | USA | 1983 | |||
| 57 | SHARRATT Brendon | NZL | 1981 |
