Sunday’s action in Liévin (France) brilliantly capped off the 2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, concluding with Mathieu Van der Poel’s record seventh Men Elite triumph. The Dutchman put the finishing touch to a day which also saw victories go to Italy’s Mattia Agostinacchio (Men Junior) and Great Britain’s Zoe Bäckstedt (Women Under 23).
Men Elite: Van der Poel’s historic masterclass
Mathieu Van der Poel’s place in the history books was once again magnified by an outstanding one-man show in Liévin, where he claimed his seventh Men Elite UCI Cyclo-cross World Champion victory, matching the record set by Belgium’s Eric De Vlaeminck in the 1960s and 1970s. The Dutch icon took his first crown in 2015 and has developed a unique dominance ever since, with Elite titles on the road (2023) and in gravel (2024) to go along with his cyclo-cross conquests (2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025).
The winner acknowledged it meant a lot to him to match De Vlaeminck’s record: “It’s history, a record that was standing for a long, long time. You never imagine you’ll be a seven-time UCI World Champion so it’s something special for me. I had immediately a super good feeling and I just tried to get a big gap to discourage the chasers a bit and that worked.”
Van der Poel took the reins as soon as the race began, setting a strong pace that saw him distance all his rivals in the very first lap. Meanwhile, Wout van Aert was fighting his way through traffic, until he managed to go solo in the wake of MVDP halfway through the race. Belgium’s three-time Men Elite UCI Cyclo-cross World Champion takes his fifth silver medal in the event (+45’’ on the day), all of them in editions that crowned Van der Poel. The Men Elite podium was rounded out by Belgium’s Thibau Nys (+1’06’’), taking his first Elite medal after his rainbow jerseys in the Junior (2020) and Under 23 (2023) ranks.
Women Under 23: Bäckstedt’s double gold weekend
A couple of days after participating in Great Britain’s mixed team relay win, Zoe Bäckstedt claimed yet another rainbow jersey as she dominated the Women Under 23 race in Liévin, a year after her triumph in the same event in Tábor (Czechia). This time, she got the better of Luxembourg’s Marie Schreiber (+39’’) and the Netherlands’ Leonie Bentveld (+1’20’’), who repeated her bronze medal finish from last year in the same category.
“It was a nice gap at the end but still a really tense race the whole time,” Bäckstedt said afterwards. “There were a few points on the course where I could see where [Marie Schreiber] was. I was trying to focus on my race and use to my advantage the parts where I could really put some power down. In the end, I didn’t worry too much. Sixteen seconds in the last lap is a lot to bring back so I knew as soon as I got to the off-camber, as long as I got down that safely, even if she was at maybe five seconds I could still sprint and hopefully still take it.” “I think I deserve a nice big Lego set, build that on the off season, and then come back on the road!” Bäckstedt added with a smile, as a huge enthusiast both of construction sets and of all sorts of bikes. Across different disciplines (she also shines on the road and the track) and categories (she’s been a dominant force since her Junior years), the young Brit has now claimed eight UCI World Champion titles.
Men Junior: Italians shatter French dreams
In a race marked by many changes of lead, France’s Soren Bruyère Joumard, impressive all season long throughout the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, entered the final lap 12 seconds ahead of his chasers. But the Italian youngsters worked perfectly to reel him in and Mattia Agostinacchio went for the decisive move that granted his country their third Men Junior UCI Cyclo-cross World Champion title, after previous triumphs from Davide Malacarne (2005) and Stefano Viezzi (2024).
“I had a good start, I wanted to be up there, but I had to swap bikes early and I ended up with some issues with the handling but I adapted to the situation,” the young UCI World Champion explained. “Then I went down and I broke my shoe and it was a bit complicated but I figured I’d give it my all in the final lap. I was thinking: ‘I can do it, I can do it!’ And I did it. I’m super happy and this goes to everyone who’s supported me, it’s a huge family, they’ve always given me everything. This jersey means a lot to me.”
Agostinacchio’s final push granted him a margin of 12’’ on Bruyère Joumard (winner of the Men Junior UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup this year in his first season as a Junior). Filippo Grigolini (+30’’) increased the emphasis on Italian dominance as he got the better of Spain’s Benjamín Noval Suárez in the battle for bronze.