Van Aert ensured there would be a Belgian winner at the Belgian venue, riding solo to victory.

It was just 27-year-old's second race of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup season, but he has a perfect record with two wins from two.

Mathieu van der Poel, the reigning world champion from The Netherlands, was second on his cyclo-cross season debut and Belgian Toon Aerts finished third.

Another Belgian, Eli Iserbyt, placed ninth but remains the overall leader with three rounds to go.

In the women's race, Brand moved clear on the third of five laps en route to a fifth victory of the World Cup season.

American Clara Honsinger was second and Brand's compatriot Denise Betsema third, just as she was at this year's World Championships.

Brand leads Betsema by 38 points in the season's standings.

Dutch venue Hulst is due to stage the next World Cup race on January 2.