Dutch cycling star Mathieu van der Poel bids to earn a record-breaking eighth title at the cyclocross world championship in his homeland on Sunday. Van der Poel, who is also a star of road cycling, is the overwhelming favorite for victory in Hulst, southwest Netherlands. Only at his season opener in Namur, when he made his decisive move on the last lap, in Mol earlier this month, where he was neck-and-neck with Wout van Aert until his Belgian rival crashed and broke his ankle, and last Saturday in Maasmechelen when he was hampered by two punctures, has Van der Poel been troubled.
