Cross World Championships 2026: Van der Poel now record winner after eighth title
Sebastian Lindner
· 01.02.2026
Only in the first of Hulst's eight laps were van der Poel's rivals able to stay within touching distance - after that, they only saw the old and new world champion in the run-in. The dominance was expected in this form - only defects or crashes could have kept him from the title. It was the eighth. 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025 were previously on the 31-year-old's tally, putting him on a par with Erik De Vlaeminck, who celebrated seven titles in the 60s and 70s. Now van der Poel is the sole record world champion.
He left it open as to whether van der Poel will get back on his cross bike next winter. "We'll see. It will be a while before the next season is just around the corner," he said after his title. There had been speculation beforehand as to whether he would focus fully on his road career after his eighth title. "When I started cycling, my dream was to become world champion as a professional. The fact that I now have the most titles of all time is incredible."
Behind the outstanding crosser of his time, Del Grosso and Nys - just as lonely as van der Poel a few metres further ahead - are fighting for the remaining medals. For a long time, it was up to the Belgian to take the lead. However, he was unable to distance van der Poel's compatriot and team-mate at Alpecin-Premier Tech. Instead, Del Grosso took the wheel in the middle of the last lap and finally put Nys behind.
Fabian Eder and Marcel Meisen competed for Germany. Neither had anything to do with the outcome of the race and finished 25th and 26th respectively. The best result from the DACH region was delivered by Kevin Kuhn (Switzerland) in eleventh place. In any case, the Dutch and Belgians dominated the action at the front. Only Italy's Filippo Fontana and Felipe Orts from Spain in fifth and seventh represented other colours in the top 10.
Cross World Championships 2026 - Results Men Elite
- Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) 1:00:25 hours
- Tibor Del Grosso (Netherlands) +0:35
- Thibau Nys (Belgium) +0:46
- Joris Nieuwenhus (Netherlands) +0:55
- Filippo Fontana (Italy) +0:55
- Gerben Kuypers (Belgium) +0:58
- Felipe Orts (Spain) +1:04
- Toon Aerts (Belgium) +1:04
- Jente Michels (Belgium) +1:04
- Michael Vanthourenhout +1:35
Right from the start, van der Poel, Del Grosso and Nys pulled away from the rest of the field, with Nys also having problems following the Dutch pace dictates. The Belgian came back on the steps, but this was short-lived. Shortly after the trio had completed the first lap and already had a 20-second lead over the rest of the field, van der Poel went one better and broke away from his companions.
Halfway through the race, after four of eight laps, van der Poel had already opened up a lead of almost a minute, but then slowed down again to avoid taking any unnecessary risks. Behind him, Nys tried in vain to shake off his Dutch shadow. But Del Grosso stayed on his wheel, even if he left a few metres gap every now and then. Their lead on the other chasers was a good 25 seconds.
By the end of the sixth lap, however, Nys was able to put a few seconds between himself and Del Grosso. Then the rain set in, making the course a little more challenging. At the bell for the final lap, Del Grosso had closed the gap to Nys again and even overtook him. Although Del Grosso seemed to have some physical problems in the meantime, he was finally able to pull away from Nys and secure silver.
