With Mathieu Van Der Pol and Tom Pidcock absent, Wout Van Art was the favorite to win Saturday's Superprestige Gurregem.

After his win in Koksijde on Thursday, the Jumbo Visma rider said he was spurred on by Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" blaring over the public address system. Not surprisingly, disc jockeys at the Gullegem were also scouring their record collections for the boss's tunes.

"But it's no longer original. We have to think of something new," Van Art joked to Sporza (open in new tab). 'I will think about it for the next cross, but I want to concentrate on the sport itself.'

Regardless of the musical accompaniment, Van Aert's dominance was never in doubt on Saturday. The Jumbo Visma rider followed his early acceleration and, as he approached the halfway point, dropped his rivals one by one on a course made treacherous by the incessant rain.

"The rain made it very technical," said the rider. I wanted to stay in the wheels a little longer, but it was actually more difficult. At one point I felt like if I took my line I could do better, and then I just tried to keep going."

Van Aert recorded his seventh win of the cyclo-cross campaign, 22 seconds ahead of Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) and 41 seconds ahead of Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal). When asked about Van der Poel and Pidcock, who were absent from the race, he gave a brief response. Van Aert, who was dominant on the cyclocross circuit over the Christmas period, said, "We have to beat the riders there."

"The last two weeks went very well. The last two weeks went very well. It was always difficult to win, especially in a superprestige like the race in Diegem. But this winter I succeeded. Here in Gullegem I was able to win for the first time.

Van Aat will compete in the Sonnhofen World Cup on Sunday.

The Alpecin-Desseunink rider complained of back pain in Koksijde on Thursday, but on Saturday Het Laatste Nieuws reported that he will be on the start line in Sonnhofen.

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