Having taken his first win of the new cyclocross season at the X2O Trofee in Kortrijk on Saturday, it was a different story for Tom Pidcock at Sunday's UCI World Cup round in Hulst.
The world champion was facing off against Mathieu van der Poel for the first time at the seventh round of the competition but was forced into a late DNF from second place after suffering a broken rear wheel.
Pidcock was chasing at 12 seconds down when the incident happened. Having already raced past the pit area for the last time, his race came to an unfortunate end.
He continued on foot with his bike on his shoulder but was soon forced to concede defeat.
"I don't know exactly what happened either," the Ineos Grenadiers rider told the Belga news agency. "I think I hit something, maybe that post or maybe something else. I'm not quite sure. My wheel broke after that. I walked for a while, but it was still far, and it was of little use."
It was the second mechanical issue to trouble Pidcock in just a week. At Overijse on November 20, Pidcock suffered jammed gears on the startline, leaving him trailing at the back of the pack on the opening lap.
Van der Poel went on to take the solo victory in Hulst, the Dutchman beating Lars van der Haar by 15 seconds in his first race back after almost a year away from the discipline.
From Pidcock's perspective, he can at least look back on the weekend and celebrate his first win in the rainbow stripes he took in Fayetteville back in late January. With Sunday's race ending earlier than usual, he also got some extra riding in, taking the scenic route home with his younger brother Joe.
"It was planned to ride home with my brother," Pidcock said ahead of the journey with his brother, who will race for Continental squad Trinity next season. "Today the 'cross was done early, so we had that chance. I think it's about 60km home."
Pidcock is set to continue his 'cross campaign through the winter, with more battles with Van der Poel and also Wout van Aert on the horizon, though he's unsure if he'll defend his world title in Hoogerheide on February 5.
"The World Championship is very late this time, isn't it? If you peak for this Championship and then you have to prepare for the Classics…" he said earlier this month.
The top-level cyclocross season continues at the weekend with the UCI World Cup round in Antwerp on December 4.
