Despite the crash and road block: Van der Poel races to the world title

"That's incredible. I can't even imagine riding in the rainbow jersey. If I hadn't won the title, I would have had sleepless nights," said the Dutch cycling star. At the end of a dramatic triumph with a torn jersey and a bloody elbow, he had conquered the world championship crown in road cycling for the first time.

Undeterred by a violent fall on the slippery streets of Glasgow, van der Poel celebrated his personal happy ending with tears in his eyes on Sunday, a year after the nightmare at an Australian police station. “This feels like revenge for last year,” said van der Poel, who won the labyrinth of Glasgow with its many curves and corners with a clear lead over his Belgian rival Wout van Aert and the Slovenian Tour runner-up Tadej Pogacar.

Before things got going in Glasgow, a protest by a Scottish environmental organization caused the race to be interrupted for almost an hour. Demonstrators stuck themselves to the asphalt on a country road in the Carron Valley around 80 kilometers after the start in Edinburgh, bringing the field to a standstill. Scottish police arrested five protesters.

The professional cyclists had to wait on the closed road for around an hour. © ANSA / EUROSPORT

Van der Poel then showed off his driving skills on the winding course through the Scottish industrial city and single-handedly took victory after 271,1 kilometers. He didn't allow himself to be stopped by a fall 16,5 kilometers from the finish when he slipped into the barrier on a curve. But the 28-year-old immediately jumped back on the bike and ultimately secured the first Dutch victory in 38 years. In 1985, Joop Zoetemelk triumphed in Giavera di Montella, Italy.

One year after the World Cup fiasco 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 as well as the title at the Cross World Championships. Just a year ago, the World Cup in Wollongong turned into a personal fiasco for MvP. The night before the street race there was an argument in the hotel hallway with two girls who kept knocking on his door. After a shove, the police arrived. Van der Poel had to go to the station for a few hours and gave up in frustration after a sleepless night later in the race.

There was a real elimination race on the 14,3 kilometer long circuit in Glasgow with its 48 corners. Prominent names were repeatedly left behind during 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 decision was made in front of several hundred thousand spectators 22 kilometers from the finish, when van der Poel made the decisive attack. Defending champion Remco Evenepoel had already had to let it go.

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Despite the crash and road block: Van der Poel races to the world title

Marked by his violent crash into the balustrades, but overjoyed, Mathieu van der Poel crouched on the wet asphalt in George Square and let his emotions run wild. He is the new road cycling world champion.

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