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Ex world champ van der Poel rides 200km home after Koksijde cyclo-cross cancelled

It was a perfect day for the Dutch National Headwind Cycling Championships, mind

Former cyclo-cross world champion Mayhieu van der Poel didn’t let the cancellation of today’s round of the World Cup at Koksijde stop him from getting a decent ride in – he jumped on his bike and rode more than 200km home to the Antwerp suburb of Kapellen.

> Video: Insane winds force cancellation of 2016 Koksijde Cyclocross World Cup

It took the 21-year-old, winner of the rainbow jersey at Tabors in the Czech Republic, around six hours to complete the ride.

As he remarked in a hashtag when posting the ride to Strava, it was a “little more than expected.”

While the wind may have put paid to the racing at Koksijde, it provided ideal conditions across the border in van der Poel’s native Netherlands for the 2016 Dutch National Headwind Championships.

Many riders agreed with the UCI’s decision not to hold the race, with footage posted to Twitter showing the wind dismantling a marquee.

However van der Poel himself wondered if it hadn’t been made too hastily, noting that the cancellation was announced four and a half hours before the scheduled start time.

He said that the “decision was made way too fast in my opinion,” adding, “they predict less wind this afternoon.”

While the wind may have put paid to the racing at Koksijde, it provided ideal conditions across the border in van der Poel’s native Netherlands for the 2016 Dutch National Headwind Championships.

Now in its fourth year, there’s a gallery of pictures of the event here, and while there’s no video as yet, you can have a look at footage of the past two editions by following the link below.

> Videos: Windy weekend was perfect for Dutch National Headwind Cycling Championships

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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4 comments

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Harmanhead | 7 years ago
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Wout van aert road in a figure 8 in the sand for a good while too. Maybe after all that epo, you need to work it of before midnight. 

Joke btw...

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nniff | 7 years ago
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And the reason for the ride was an epic tail wind for most of the route.   I feel more for the headwind battlers on sit up and beg single gear bikes over in the Netherlands

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Velomark | 7 years ago
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Chapeau - although was mainly downhill to be fair 

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Mb747 replied to Velomark | 7 years ago
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Velomark wrote:

Chapeau - although was mainly downhill to be fair 

Bike computer upside down? I dont think Antwerp is 140m below sea level

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