Mathieu van der Poel has been hailed as the greatest cyclo-cross rider of all time after winning an unprecedented eighth world title at the weekend.

The 31-year-old shot away from the field on the opening lap of the eight-lap course in Hulst, Zeeland, and went on to win by 34 seconds from fellow Dutchman Tibor del Grosso, with the bronze medal going to Thibaut Nys of Belgium.

Van der Poel said it was “very special” to eclipse the record set by Belgian cyclo-cross legend Eric de Vlaeminck, who was champion seven times between 1966 and 1973.

“It was my dream when I started out to become world champion once,” he said. “To have the most titles ever now is very nice.”

Van der Poel was the overwhelming favourite for the title, having won all 12 of his cyclo-cross races this season, even though he considered skipping the season to focus on the summer road race programme. He won the world title on the road in Glasgow in 2023 and has 10 Tour de France yellow jerseys.

Among the first to congratulate Van der Poel after his win was Dutch king Willem-Alexander, who described the feat as “majestic”.

“Everyone expected it to happen beforehand, but now that he’s won in such majestic fashion and shown such unbelievable class, we can’t be anything other than immensely proud of what he’s done for Dutch cycling and Dutch sport, and for himself of course,” the king said.