Wout van Aert takes dominant win in Trofee Koksijde over Mathieu an der Poel after puncture heartbreak earlier in week

Wout van Aert bounced back from a disappointing defeat to rival Mathieu van der Poel a couple of days ago to record a dominant win in the Trofee Koksijde on Thursday.

Out of respect Van der Poel didn’t celebrate when he crossed the line and fans eagerly waited for Thursday’s race to see them do battle again.

And this time it was Van Aert who came out on top, putting together a brilliant performance to beat Van der Poel by a margin of 1”38. Laurens Sweeck rounded off the podium.

This is the eighth race this season that has seen the two rivals finish in the top three, with Van Aert leading the way with five wins.

Speaking afterwards Van Aert said “My celebration today (uppercut move) was a little show. I hope the spectators can appreciate that.

“The form is really good and I was eager to take the victory. It’s always nice to win like this.”

In the women’s race earlier in the day a brilliant solo ride from Shirin van Anrooij saw her beat out Fem van Empel for the victory.

Lucinda Brand completed the podium in that race.

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