THE GREAT EIGHT: MATHIEU VAN DER POEL FLIES TO CYCLO-CROSS WORLD TITLE NO.8 ON HIS CANYON INFLITE TO BREAK ALL-TIME RECORD

History was made in the mud of Hulst at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. Beyond Mathieu van der Poel’s historic eighth title on the Inflite CFR, several other Canyon riders rounded out the podium places.

Sunday, 01 February 2026: At the conclusion of the 2025/26 Cyclo-cross season, Mathieu van der Poel has once again delivered a performance for the history books. On an energy-sapping, quagmire of a course in Hulst, and with a 36-second lead, the Dutch superstar claimed his eighth Men Elite UCI Cyclo-cross World Champion title, setting a new all-time record in the sport.

With this victory, van der Poel moves past Belgian legend Erik De Vlaeminck, whose seven world titles had defined the benchmark in men’s professional cycling for more than 50 years. It is no exaggeration to call this a historic shift in the sport, officially crowning van der Poel as the most successful male rider to ever touch a Cyclo-cross bike.

Throughout the season, the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider proved his authority whenever he took to the start line. This World Title is the golden finale of a perfect season: 13 races, 13 victories, and eight UCI World Cup wins that left the competition with no answer.

When his heart rate hits the red line and his vision blurs in the rain, the Canyon Inflite CFR becomes an intuitive extension of Mathieu’s own will. It’s a silent, carbon-fibre pact forged in the trenches of the sport’s hardest courses.

Developed in close collaboration with Mathieu, every detail of the bike is optimized for world-class podiums: the integrated CP0018 Aerocockpit provides surgical control and tool-free width adjustment, while the iconic top tube kink ensures effortless shouldering on brutal run-ups. Combined with mud-shedding tube shapes and massive clearance to keep the bike agile in the thickest clay, it proves that when history is on the line, every millimeter of engineering counts.

Mathieu didn't have to celebrate his podium victory alone. To his right was Alpecin Premier-Tech teammate and last year's U23 Cyclocross World Champion, Tibor Del Grosso, who secured the silver medal with a commanding performance, further underscoring his place among the elite.

But the weekend’s success was already ignited on Saturday. During the Women’s Elite race, Fenix-Premier Tech athletes delivered a statement performance as Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Puck Pieterse secured a brilliant double podium. Despite an early crash, Pieterse showed resilience, and defended her position at the front in exemplary fashion to claim third, just behind Alvarado in second. Rounding out the podium places, Alpecin-Premier Tech rider Aaron Dockx won under-23 men's gold for Belgium.

With the ‘Great Eight’ officially in the books, one thing remains certain: if you want to catch the rainbow, you have to catch the Inflite first. Discover it now at canyon.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

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2. Additional photos: can be found here.