Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) recovered from an unforeseen mechanical accident to take his first cyclocross victory of the season at the first Dublin World Cup in Ireland.

The 28-year-old Belgian was leading a group of six riders late in the race when a mechanical towel got caught in his rear derailleur while passing outside the pit area.

The race briefly descended into panic, and Van Aert lost contact with his rivals. However, five-time cyclocross world champion Van Aert kept his cool, returned to the track, and rushed to the pits to change bikes.

Van Aert lost 16 seconds, but charged back toward the lead group and attacked painfully in the sandy pit section to win by 14 seconds.

"I ran on the extreme right side next to the mechanic," Van Aert said of the accident.

"I accidentally grabbed the mechanic's towel and it slipped in the wheel and broke the derailleur. I was lucky that I realized it right away and was able to go back and get a new bike."

"I rode pretty calmly. Up front they weren't attacking as hard and I knew right away that I still had a chance. You never know what's going to happen on a cross, so it's always important to stay calm."

"Most of the time I always race to the line and that was my plan again today.

Van Aert and rival Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) both got off to slow starts and were forced to fight their way into the top group from outside the top 10. However, the World Tour Road riders quickly moved forward, and Pidcock first attempted to break up the lead group of six.

Van Aert, who finished second in last week's Antwerp World Cup, also made a small mistake on the slippery course. However, he recovered from a mechanical problem late in the race with power and left his rivals behind to take his first cyclo-cross victory since January.

Lawrence Sweck (Creran Fristads) tried to catch Van Aert, but ended up finishing second, 14 seconds behind.

"I made a little mistake at the start and had to fight with others to keep my position.

"I almost crashed once, but at that point I had a better feeling than the mechanical one. Luckily the race was so hard that I was still able to come back."

"I was able to get back in.

Ahead of the elite men's race, the icy conditions from the morning's Rickon turned to mud, and Van Aert said the changing course in Dublin made it difficult.

The Belgian also praised the 8,000 Dubliners who turned out for the first World Cup in Ireland.

Van Aert added: "It was a really enjoyable experience. We had a huge crowd, which you don't always see when you go abroad for a World Cup.

"Today was one of the hardest days in cyclocross where you have to adapt to the conditions because the course was changing every second. It was good.