Mathieu van der Pol was pessimistic after losing to Wout van Aert in the Mal GP.

Van der Pol, a four-time world champion, was in second place at the Zilvermeer Cross on Friday, but was run out by his nemesis in the last two laps.

By the end of the sandy race, Van der Pol realized he was chasing a losing cause and finished 56 seconds behind Van Aert. [According to Het Nieuwsblad, "I don't feel very good. I didn't feel good today, and I'm not satisfied."

"There is no explanation for that. We did some hard work and we might have to refocus a little bit for the next race. We can't be satisfied with this, so hopefully we can resist a little more. ......"

Van der Pol kicked off his 2022-2023 cyclocross campaign with a win in the World Cup round in Hulst, followed by another in Antwerp, where he defeated Van Aert in the first clash of the campaign.

He struggled in the snow at Val di Sole last weekend, but was still able to participate in the Exacto Cross Mor (also known as the Zilbermeer Cross) to start the busy Christmas racing period.

Van der Pol will next compete in the Gaber round of the World Cup on December 26 and the Superprestige round in Heusden Zolder and Diegem on December 27 and 28.

The New Year will open with the X2O Trophy in Herentals and Koksijde before the World Cup in Zonhoven on January 8. After a rest at the road camp with Alpecin Deceuninck, the team will compete in the World Cup in Benidorm on January 22 before the World Championships in Vogelheide on February 5.

"Hopefully my legs will get better over Christmas and I will be able to resist more.

"But this has happened before. Now I just have to swallow it and move on to the next race."