The 2018-19 UCI Cyclo-cross season came to a close on the weekend in Bogense, Denmark, with Aussie riders failing to make any significant impact.
In the Men's Elite, Christopher Aitken and Garry Millburn finished 46th and 53rd respectively out of the field of 58.
In the Under-23 men's race, Aussie youngsters Adam Blazevic and Declan Prosser ended up at the back of the standings, finishing 61st and 62nd.
Writing on Instagram after the race, Blazevic said, "Tough day out at CX Worlds in Bogense. I was riding well technically and moved up from a back row start, but faded in the later laps. Really disappointed with the final result, but I’m proud that I didn’t give in and kept fighting until the end. It’s special wearing the Australian kit at Worlds and I feel honoured to have done so."
At the pointy end of the action, Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel and Belgian Sanne Cant took out the Men's and Women's Elite categories.
Cant, who has now won three consecutive World Championship crowns, managed to hold off a strong Dutch challenge to win in an impressive 47:53. It could've been very different, though, with the world champ capitalising on 2018 bronze medallist Lucinda Brand's dramatic slip in the pit lane entering the penultimate lap. A miscommunication with a team mechanic when changing bikes resulted in the 29-year-old falling, losing precious seconds and ultimately handing the Rainbow Band to Cant.
The Men's Elite race was a far more straightforward affar, with Mathieu Van der Poel capturing his first World Championship since 2015, comfortably outracing a string of Belgian riders to take the title. After finishing a distant third in this year's World Cup series to Belgians Toon Aerts and Wout van Aert, Sunday's win will serve as sweet consolation for the 24-year-old.
In other news, it was also announced on Friday that the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championship will return to the US for the first time in nine years, with the 2022 event to be staged in the city of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
