Home favourite Wout van Aert produced a dominant performance to win the men’s elite race at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Belgian city Namur ©Getty Images

Home favourite Wout van Aert produced a dominant performance to win the men's elite race at the International Cycling Union (UCI) Cyclo-cross World Cup in Belgian city Namur.

The reigning world champion clocked an unrivalled time of 1 hour 7min 47sec to take the maximum 200 points on offer.

He pulled away from the field on the opening lap and stayed consistent throughout to finish more than a minute clear of compatriot Toon Aerts, the former European champion who took the runners-up spot.  

World Cup leader Mathieu van der Poel of The Netherlands rounded out the podium in 1:08:53.

Van Aert had finished second to Van der Poel for the past two years in Namur.

The women's elite race saw Evie Richards lead a British one-two ahead of Nikki Brammeier and claim her first World Cup victory at the top level.

Richards, the former under-23 world champion, crossed the line in a time of 38:49 to beat Brammeier by a margin of 15 seconds.

Italy's Eva Lechner came third in 39:13.

World Cup leader Sanne Cant of Belgium ended up in 12th place.

The UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup season is due to continue in Heusden-Zolder in Belgium on December 26.