Mathieu van der Poel, with streaks on his smiling face, raised his arms under an indecisive sky that alternated the jets of water with the rays of the sun. He bathed in both after attacking at the right time and with the right force.. After having fallen when slipping on a treacherous floor and combining greatness with risk, courage with shock, and pleasure with anguish.
Sore, but happy; with red scratches, drenched in sweat and water; the uniform torn, but the body intact; Dirty asphalt, but resplendent with glory, he was proclaimed world champion. Behind him, an impressive trio, unbeatable, the rest, except Evenepoel, of the top favourites: Wout van Aert, at 1:37. And, at 1:45, Tadej Pogacar, who surprisingly beat Mads Pedersen in the sprint. A dream podium, a gift for the official photo of an unforgettable World Cup.
Mathieu, winner in San Remo and Roubaix, offered some doubts after his weak performance in the Tour. Even so, he never lacked for a barrage of favorable forecasts.. The route favored him and, in the end, the route and the man honored each other. A “parcours” similar to a criterium, but brutal. To a “kermesse”, but wild. They were 271 kms., Many of which, the last, after leaving Edinburgh, in a street circuit in Glasgow. And, in addition, a circuit with 460 curves, 45 per lap. And endless steep “studs”. Technical, tough, dangerous… weird. The anticipated World Cup, the World Cup in summer was the World Cup in autumn. In other words, from the Scottish summer: water and 14 degrees.
But it turned out, in the end, a monument to cycling within a demolition task that exhausted the men until turning any of the fifty survivors into a hero. The entire race, from the first metre, was nothing more than a preparatory exercise for the tremendous finish. A World Cup is like a classic. And, as in all classics, there is always an early break from modest runners and destined for failure.. This time it was carried out by nine adventurers without hope, but with honor.
They endured a lot. They came to have an advantage of, rounding, eight minutes. So, with 192 km to go. for the finish line, the race was neutralized due to a protest demonstration, worthy of a better cause, whatever, and, above all, a more appropriate setting. Since no camera recorded it, no one found out who the “protestants” were, who stuck to the road with some potion, or what they were complaining about or what they were demanding. They altered the course of events, screwed up in bulk, and got nowhere. Congratulations.
But somehow the test took on new life. The peloton stretched and quickened the march. The escapees, however, managed to reach the circuit with a 4:52 advantage. They were slowly but inexorably losing it until their disappearance. Two moments marked the future of the test. When there were still 55 kms left!, a bold Alberto Bettiol left the group. He revolutionized everything in a peloton that lost people, recovered them, although not all of them and, in general, pedaled with “the hook” and offered changing and, of course, exhausting alternatives.
With 16 men remaining, still with Bettiol ahead, the Ecuadorian Narváez skidded on the already slippery ground and, sliding across the width of the road, crashed into the fences. The accident caused an instant touch to Zafarrancho. The “Fab Four” (Van der Poel, Pogacar, Van Aert, Pedersen) were left alone and left behind a trio made up of Powless, Schmid and Skujins. A little further back, conspicuously, Evenepoel, Neilands, Kung and Dinham.
The quartet caught Bettiol. And, at that moment, Van der Poel attacked. You already know the result. The last Dutch world champion was Joop Zoetemelk 38 years ago. Van der Poel has wound up History while helping to make it. Ion Izagirre, dragged by Matteo Trentin, who tripped over the legs of the fences, abandoned. And Alex Aranburu finished nineteenth, 8:30 behind Van der Poel.
