Historic double: Van der Poel races to the world championship throne despite crashing in the rain

World Cycling Championships 2023 Glasgow: Van der Poel at the destination of his dreams

When Mathieu van der Poel celebrated his personal triumphal ride in George Square with a torn jersey and a bloody elbow, the classics specialist had reached the goal of his dreams.

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Undeterred by a heavy crash on the slippery streets of Glasgow, the Dutch cycling star conquered the World Championship crown for the first time on Sunday and celebrated his personal happy ending with tears in his eyes one year after the nightmare at an Australian police station.

Van der Poel: "It means everything to me"

"It means everything to me. It was one of my big goals and completes my career," explained van der Poel. "This was my most important victory. I can't wait to ride in the rainbow jersey for a year." Van der Poel now has two of these at the same time, as he already became cross world champion in February - a historic feat.

In the World Cycling Championship road race, which was overshadowed by a protest, van der Poel showed off his riding skills on the winding course through the Scottish industrial city and single-handedly took the rainbow jersey at the World Cycling Championships after 271.1 kilometres.

World Cycling Championship 2023: Crash can't stop van der Poel

Van der Poel won the labyrinth of Glasgow with its many bends and corners by almost two minutes ahead of his Belgian rival Wout van Aert and the Slovenian Tour runner-up Tadej Pogacar. Even a crash 16.5 kilometres from the finish did not stop him when he slid into the balustrades in a bend. However, the 28-year-old immediately jumped back on his bike and ultimately secured the first Dutch victory in 38 years. Joop Zoetemelk had triumphed in the Italian Giavera di Montella in 1985.

Degenkolb holds up the German flag

As expected, the German riders did not play a role. Only John Degenkolb was able to present himself at the front of the field for a while, but in the end he had no chance. The long wait for the first German World Championship title since Rudi Altig in 1966 thus continues.

For van der Poel, the grandson of the legendary Raymond Poulidor, it is the crowning glory of an outstanding season with victories at the cycling monuments Milan-San-Remo and Paris-Roubaix as well as the title at the Cross World Championships.

2022 World Cycling Championships: fiasco for van der Poel

Just a year ago, the World Championships in Wollongong had turned into a personal fiasco for MvdP. The night before the road race, there was a dispute in the hotel corridor with two girls who kept knocking on his door. After a shoving match, the police arrived. Van der Poel had to go to the police station for a few hours and gave up exasperated after a sleepless night later in the race.

Irresistible start by Mathieu van der Poel

The decision in front of several hundred thousand spectators was made 22 kilometres before the finish when van der Poel launched the decisive attack at the 2023 World Cycling Championships in Glasgow. The Italian Alberto Bettiol had previously ridden alone at the front for a long time in the rain before being swallowed up by the group of favourites around van der Poel. Defending champion Remco Evenepoel had already had to let go.

The 14.3 kilometre circuit in Glasgow with its 48 bends was a real elimination race. Prominent names were repeatedly dropped during the course of 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).

Flat tyre stops Politt

The six-man German team was also quickly decimated in Glasgow. Cologne's Nils Politt, who started the race as captain, was also quickly left behind. "I had a puncture at a pretty bad time, about 25, 30 kilometres before the lap on the mountain," said Politt. He fought his way back, but his position wasn't good enough. Jannik Steimle and Nico Denz also came off their bikes early.

Protest action at the 2023 World Cycling Championships

Before the race got down to business in Glasgow, a protest by a Scottish environmental organisation caused the race to be interrupted for almost an hour. Demonstrators had stuck themselves to the tarmac on a country road in the Carron Valley around 80 kilometres after the start in Edinburgh, bringing the field to a standstill. The Scottish police arrested five demonstrators. "Standing on the road sweating for an hour was not a good time," said Politt.

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