The Dutch rider, whose hopes of overall World Cup victory were ended by an early season knee injury, had come into the event fresh from back-to-back wins at Namur and Heusden-Zolder in Belgium.

Despite those successes, the 21-year-old found himself forced to battle through the field after a poor start hindered his chances, although he was soon able to join an eight-rider leading group.

Although it contained overall World Cup leader Wout van Aert of Belgium and The Netherlands’ Lars van der Haar, the world champion put the pressure on during the fifth lap of the event by raising the pace further.

Eventually Van der Poel managed to shake off his rivals to ride solo to the finish in a time of 1 hour 00min 50sec.

Van Aert crossed the line in 1:01:03 to claim silver, while Van der Haar completed the podium, finishing a further four seconds back.

The result allowed Van Aert to extend his overall World Cup lead over Van der Haar to 21 points, ahead of the final race of the season in Hoogerheide, The Netherlands.

Belgium’s Sanne Cant extended her advantage at the top of the women’s standings after securing a dominant victory.

The 25-year-old broke away from their field on the opening lap of the course and continued to build her lead as she looked to secure a solo victory.

By the time the World Cup leader approached the fifth and final lap, she had established a lead of over 30 seconds on her compatriot Ellen Van Loy in second place.

Cant eventually crossed the line in 44:03, with the 36-year-old Van Loy finishing 21 seconds adrift having been forced to battle for second spot with the fast finishing Eva Lechner.

The Italian had to settle for third place on 44:27, with French champion Caroline Mani ending outside the podium positions in 44:46.

Cant now boasts a 32 point lead over Lechner in the overall standings, ahead of the final race due to take in Hoogerheide in The Netherlands on January 24.