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All eyes were on the return of the king of cyclocross at the X²0 Badkamers Trofee series stop at Scheldecross.

Could the most versatile male star of cycling return to where he left cyclocross earlier this year?

2020 World Champ Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Fenix) took a break after a successful, belated, shortened road season capped by a Tour of Flanders victory but made his return today to the discipline that first turned him into a superstar.

The dramatic women’s race also featured the return of champions, but they did not feature at the front today.

He’s Back!

Van der Poel took the start looking as fresh as ever. He sprinted off the line bar-to-bar with Lars van der Haar (Telenet Balloise Lions), and hit the turn first.

Van der Poel entered the barriers first, airing over the planks with ease, and showing his skills and form haven’t skipped a beat.

Domination Again?

Van der Poel, victorious in four of his last five attempts at Scheldecross, slid through the sand and emerged with a commanding lead.

While casual fans may have turned off the feed at this moment, believing they knew how the script would play out, committed fans were rewarded with a thriller.

Riding through the sand with nobody else in sight, Van der Poel suddenly found himself prone in the sand.

In a rare moment of imperfection, the World Champ overcorrected in the sand, flew over the bars and crash-landed on his chances of an uncontested ride.

A Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal Party

Suddenly, Van der Poel was surrounded by three Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal teammates, with Iserbyt, Sweeck and Vanthourenhout surrounding the rainbow stripes, with Quinten Hermans (Tormans) crashing the party.

Iserbyt attacked, while Van der Poel not only looked human, but appeared content to follow wheels.

Perhaps the World Champ burned his matches too early putting on a display of early-race fireworks?

Three World Champs Emerge

Iserbyt and Van der Poel hit two laps to go with daylight behind them, but behind them, former World Champ Tom Pidock (Trinity Racing) was flying through the field to contest the podium. Should the two leaders start playing games, the young Brit could make it a three-way battle.

Van der Poel only needed one steep climb to finally shed his determined companion.

Van der Poel eventually caught and passed Iserbyt for the win. 2019 Azencross, Loenhout. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine

A new rivalry? Van der Poel, as we saw a few times last season, had a hard time shedding Iserbyt for the win. photo: 2019 Azencross, Loenhout. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine

Hitting a steep, rutted climb, the champ pounded his pedals up a steep run-up, while Iserbyt, as he did every lap, had to dismount and run the hill. It was one dismount too many.

Iserbyt couldn’t quit, with the series lead at stake and rival Pidcock chasing behind.

The Belgian would hold off the Brit and hold onto his series lead, finishing 6 seconds behind the winner, and 20 seconds clear of Pidcock.

American Curtis White (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) was the sole North American and finished in 33rd.

See how the dramatic women’s race at the 2020 X²0 Badkamers Trofee – Scheldecross played out here.

Tomorrow, racers contest the Superprestige Gavere in a rare dual UCI C1 rac weekend.

2020 X²0 Badkamers Trofee - Scheldecross Results: Elite Men

PlaceBibRiderNatTeamAgeTime
11VAN DER POEL MathieuNEDALPECIN - FENIX250:58:10
22ISERBYT EliBELPAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL230:58:16
39PIDCOCK ThomasGBRTRINITY RACING210:58:37
44AERTS ToonBELTELENET BALOISE LIONS270:58:40
56VAN DER HAAR LarsNEDTELENET BALOISE LIONS290:58:53
63SWEECK LaurensBELPAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL270:59:01
78HERMANS QuintenBELTORMANS CYCLO CROSS TEAM250:59:10
85VANTHOURENHOUT MichaelBELPAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL270:59:19
97VAN KESSEL CorneNEDTORMANS CYCLO CROSS TEAM290:59:32
1020SOETE DaanBELGROUP HENS - MAES CONTAINERS260:59:36
1119NIEUWENHUIS JorisNED240:59:55
1212KAMP RyanNEDPAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL201:00:02
1332CAMPS JelleBELPAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL211:00:15
1413KUHN KevinSUITORMANS CYCLO CROSS TEAM221:00:21
1517AERTS ThijsBELTELENET BALOISE LIONS241:00:25
1614VERMEERSCH GianniBELCREDISHOP-FRISTADS281:00:29
1711MERLIER TimBELALPECIN - FENIX281:00:35
1816BAESTAENS VincentBELGROUP HENS - MAES CONTAINERS311:00:37
1943FERDINANDE AntonBELPAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL201:00:40
2023AERNOUTS JimBELTELENET BALOISE LIONS311:00:44
2121MEEUSEN TomBELGROUP HENS - MAES CONTAINERS321:00:57
2218SWEECK DietherBELCREDISHOP-FRISTADS271:01:17
2329MEIN ThomasGBRTORMANS CYCLO CROSS TEAM211:01:31
2438HENDRIKX MeesNEDCREDISHOP-FRISTADS201:01:47
2531RONHAAR PimNEDPAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL191:02:21
2622VAN DER POEL DavidNEDALPECIN - FENIX281:02:26
2726VANTHOURENHOUT DieterBELPAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL351:02:29
2839VAN DIJKE TimNED201:03:01
2937SIEBENS GianniBEL221:03:18
3068HUYBS WardBELTELENET BALOISE LIONS181:03:23
3134KIELICH TimoBELCREDISHOP-FRISTADS211:03:29
3249SIEMONS JulianBEL211:03:31
3315WHITE CurtisUSA251:03:35
3453VERVOORT WoutBEL191:03:35
3566BAERS ArneBEL181:03:43
3628ROUILLER LorisSUIALPECIN - FENIX201:03:58
3750JOT HugoFRAARDENNES CROSS TEAM191:04:08
3824GODRIE StanNED271:04:15
3963ALDERWEIRELD RobinBEL241:04:24
4041VRACHTEN ArneBEL211:04:30
4146DEJONGHE LenBELGROUP HENS - MAES CONTAINERS20-1 LAP
4236ROMBOUTS SeppeBEL22-1 LAP
4352ARTZ BartNED20-1 LAP
4461GROENEN KlaasNED26-1 LAP
4559VAN LOOVEREN JoachimBELPROXIMUS - ALPHAMOTORHOMES - DOLTCINI CT19-1 LAP
4669PEMEN DolfBELPROXIMUS - ALPHAMOTORHOMES - DOLTCINI CT20-2 LAPS
4760VAN DIJKE KoenNED24-2 LAPS
4847TROPARDY ArthurFRA29-2 LAPS
4955AUFFRET RonanFRATEAM PODIOCOM CC19-2 LAPS
5065VREESWIJK NoahNED19-3 LAPS
5167SALOMEZ YdrisBELPROXIMUS - ALPHAMOTORHOMES - DOLTCINI CT19-3 LAPS
5256BRONDANI LucasFRAA.S BIKE CROSSTEAM25-3 LAPS
5364GABRIEL TimothéFRA18-4 LAPS
5462OGER VincentBEL26-5 LAPS
27CLEPPE NicolasBELTELENET BALOISE LIONS25DNF
30VAN DER HEIJDEN MaikNED23DNF
48THOMAS ThéoFRATORMANS CYCLO CROSS TEAM19DNF
57NYS ThibauBELTELENET BALOISE LIONS18DNF
25VANDEPUTTE NielsBELALPECIN - FENIX20DNS