Mathieu van der Poel wins brutal Zilvermeercross as Van Aert abandons due to crash

The race began in a blizzard of snow, with the course completely covered on an early January afternoon.

It was a positive start for Wout van Aert, who dictated the tempo of the opening ten minutes of the Zilvermeercross, with the Belgian followed by Toon Aerts, World Champion Mathieu van der Poel and Felipe Orts.

As the second lap finished, the race situation remained the same, but it wasn't long before Mathieu van der Poel rocketed off into the distance once again. It wasn't as smooth sailing for Van der Poel, though. 

On the fourth lap of nine, the World Champion endured a minor crash heading into a corner, getting back on the bike in a flash with Van Aert chasing.

Van Aert continued his charge and made it back to Van der Poel, then pushed on, appearing to be the stronger of the duo, and we were set for a thrilling ending.

Back behind, the race for the final step on the podium looked to be heading to the European Champion, Toon Aerts. 

Heading into the sixth lap, the duo were still neck and neck as the blizzard continued to rage. Both Van Aert and Van der Poel tried to keep warm. Just at the end of the lap, the battle came to an end as Van Aert crashed heavily into a corner, hitting his knee and hip, leaving Van der Poel to ride away solo.

The pain in Van Aert's knee proved too much to handle as he abandoned at the start of the seventh lap, with Van der Poel ahead, Aerts behind, followed by Orts.

At the end of a bitterly cold race, the podium was as follows: Mathieu van der Poel, Toon Aerts second, and Felipe Orts third.