Mathieu Van der Poel (Netherlands) secured an elite men's record-equalling seventh UCI Cyclo-cross World Championship title following a commanding ride in Liévin.
Arch rival Wout van Aert (Belgium), who started in the fourth row and was caught behind a crash off the start line where he had to put his foot down, was left to settle for second place, while fellow Belgian Thibau Nys rounded out the podium in third.
Van der Poel has now matched Eric De Vlaeminck's historic number of seven elite men's world titles and will have the chance to break that record next year at Hulst on home Netherlands turf.
Dutch rider Marianne Vos holds the all-time record for the number of elite cyclocross Worlds victories, having won eight elite women's cyclocross world titles in her career.
Van der Poel's rival Van Aert had the expectation of Belgium on his shoulders, but a fourth-row start was his undoing.
Van Aert was boxed in from the start and then lost 46 seconds when caught behind a crash, which left him down in 37th.
The large Belgium squad waited for their leader, but the damage was done as Van der Poel powered away on the opening lap to victory in front of an estimated 35,000 spectators.
Van Aert rode most of the race chasing alone in second but failed to pull the gap back on his rival.
Meanwhile, Nys saw off a challenge from Joris Nieuwenhuis (Netherlands) to claim his first elite world championship medal.
But the day belonged to Van der Poel, who had time to celebrate with his Dutch fans on his way to victory and saluted by making the number seven with his fingers.
“This means a lot; it’s history; it was a record that was standing for a very long time. When you start racing in the elite category, you hope to win it once, but you never imagine being a seven-time world champion. It’s something special," said Van der Poel in a post-race interview with the press.
“We saw yesterday with the under-23 category, which my teammate [Tibor] Del Grosso won that often the best thing to do is to go in the front and doing your own thing.
“Especially on this course because it was super trick and a lot of problems to get into the pedals as well, if you are in a group then it is even more annoying.
“I had a good start and a super-good feeling. I just tried to get a big gap to discourage the chasers a bit; that worked.
“I was immediately fast for the first few metres before Toon Aerts passed me. I knew the places where I needed to be in front to do my own thing.
“If you immediately have a nice gap, it gives wings for the rest of the race. From then on, I was scared of a puncture or mechanical. I punctured immediately after the first section, it was quite long that I had to ride with a front tyre that was flat.
“It cost me some energy, and I asked for more pressure in my tyres, just to be sure. From then on, I was really careful."
How it unfolded
A total of 45 men from 15 nations lined up on the starting grid in Liévin, and a huge crowd of around 35,000 spectators eagerly awaited the showcase event.
The 2.8-kilometre course had turned into slick, muddy conditions with technical off-camber corners awaiting to test competitor’s bike handling.
Van Aert was a surprise entrant and had to start from the fourth row after only finishing five cyclo-cross races this season.
In comparison, his rival Van der Poel had a front-row start as he looked to defend his world title in front of a huge Dutch fanbase.
The Belgium team were tasked with helping Van Aert to the front from his low gridding so he could battle with Van der Poel.
Starting on the asphalt gradual climb, defending champion Van der Poel had the quickest start alongside Toon Aerts.
Meanwhile, Van Aert was briefly held up behind a crash and, while trying to force himself forward, ripped his shorts on the barriers and fell back to 37th place.
Van der Poel sensed his rival was much further back and charged through the opening lap to pull out a slender gap.
Spaniard Felipe Orts was in the chasing pack alongside Belgians Michael Vanthourenhout and Laurens Sweeck.
However, Van der Poel was on the charge and with the opening half-a-lap, his gap had extended to 13 seconds and Van Aert was 42 seconds back.
After finishing silver medallist last season Dutch rider Nieuwenhuis joined the medal contention after the opening lap, while Van Aert had pulled himself up to 16th place.
Nys recovered from an opening lap mishap and was part of a string of Belgians in the medals fight.
Nieuwenhuis was playing his part for the Netherlands team and sat at the front of the chasing string of Belgians to ease the pace.
By the conclusion of the second of eight laps, Van der Poel’s lead had grown to 45 seconds as Van Aert closed to the chasing group.
Coming into the asphalt start, Van Aert launched his attack to close the gap but was followed by Nieuwenhuis and Nys.
A bike change for both of his companions resulted in Van Aert forcing a gap to put his medal rivals under pressure.
At the race's midway point, Van der Poel maintained his 45-second advantage and was still in control.
The pace of Van Aert took a tool on Nieuwenhuis, who was gapped while taking a bike change and being followed for a medal by Nys.
With three of eight laps remaining, it was head-to-head between Van Aert and arch-rival Van der Poel, and 55 seconds separated them.
An intriguing fight for bronze was developing with Nieuwenhuis and Nys joined together and 26 seconds clear of their nearest challengers.
Heading into the penultimate lap, Van der Poel remained in control and one minute ahead of Van Aert, while the bronze medal fight was happening 1:38 behind.
Nys had bided his time after playing a team tactic early on and charged away from Nieuwenhuis into the bronze-medal position.
Hearing the bell signifying the last lap, Van der Poel remained 56 seconds ahead of Van Aert, while in the battle for bronze, Nys was 13 seconds ahead of Nieuwenhuis.
The solo battle between the medallists continued into the last lap as Van der Poel had enough advantage to celebrate.
Van Aert was left 45 seconds behind to finish in second, while Nys celebrated his first elite Cyclo-cross World Championship medal in third, just nine seconds ahead of Nieuwenhuis.
Results
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