Mathieu Van Der Pol (Alpecin-Phoenix) topped the podium in his first race of the 2020-21 season on Saturday.

He took his fifth career win in the X²0 Badkamers Trofee-Scheldecross in Antwerp, but it was not a solo breakaway with distance and time to spare.

The three-time world champion crashed in the sand on the third lap of the circuit and hit the pole.

The two cars then raced until the final lap, when van der Pol broke away and won the X²O Budkamers Trophy by six seconds over Iserbitt, who held on to the lead.

"I felt good from the start. But I made a mistake in the sand while running alone. That caused the spring to break a little. After that I couldn't finish that section properly," Van der Pol said in a post-race interview.

"But I didn't feel like I was at the limit. There was a little bit of leeway on Iserbitt's wheel. In fact, it always felt good. Because last year I often had that feeling at the beginning of the season"

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Last season, Van der Pol began his cross campaign with the fourth round of the Super Prestige Series in Rudervoorde in early November. This year, one month later, only three rounds remain, albeit with the X²O Trophy and World Cup still on the calendar.

"I'm three kilos lighter," the Tour de Flanders champion said of his weight compared to the October road classic.

"I'm never the lightest in weight during the classics. It's more in the winter. With all the intensive training for running and for the cross, the lighter the weight, the better. Plus, in a six-hour race on the road, you need to have reserves and extras. So this is a semi-conscious choice."

On Sunday, Van der Pol will compete in the first round of the Superprestige in Gavère.

"It will be difficult. Toon Arts will find a course that suits his needs, so it will be difficult," he said of Gavère.

"Eli had no problems at all today.