Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) made a transfer with three laps to go and rode away for the victory at Koppenbergcross. Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) completed second, 34 seconds again, and Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens-FSP) took third, one other 20 seconds down.
Final yr’s X2O Trofee cyclocross collection champion took the early lead within the eight-race collection with the victory. A four-time Dutch champion, it was Van der Haar’s second profession win at Koppenbergcross after a second-place end to teammate Thibau Nys a yr in the past.
“To me, the Koppenberg has at all times been one of the crucial essential races. I’ve raced right here since juniors. I’ve at all times had the dream to win right here within the elite on the cobblestones, and now I’ve two,” Van der Haar stated on the end to broadcasters.
The ‘mad duck’ race coated seven laps for the elite males. Skies delivered a skinny mist within the morning and made the leaf-covered cobbles slippery, in addition to the numerous sharp corners on the grassy hillside that appeared to ship riders to a ribbon of punchy climbs, making it tough to keep up any rhythm.
Yorben Lauryssen (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) took the early lead, with Belgian champion and teammate Iserbyt and Thijs Aerts (Charles Liégeois Rostery CX) forming a two-rider chase behind.
There was no panic from the peloton, which remained collectively in a protracted line for the opening lap, and Iserbyt claimed the lead throughout the primary ascent of the Koppenberg, making a motorcycle swap on the pits to start the second lap. Iserbyt additionally took a time bonus as the primary rider over the signature cobbled climb.
Throughout the twisting part of the course on lap two, European cyclocross champion Michael Vanthourenhout bridged to his teammate and the pair put in 5 seconds to a brand new chasing trio – Toon Aerts, Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions), and Lander Loockx, who fell again when he slipped sideways on a brief uphill part.
The entrance 4 riders got here collectively, with Loockx joined by a lone Dutchman Van der Haar shut behind on the third lap. With riders unclipping to protect upright positions on the damp path, Loockx dropped again and Van der Haar joined the entrance 4. They remained collectively and stretched the result in seven seconds.
Iserbyt needed to dismount to keep away from a fall on the midpoint of lap three on a slippery patch, then jumped again on the bike to keep up contact with the lead group. Just a few turns later, Nys made an acceleration to take a small lead. The transfer pushed the tempo of the entrance 5 they usually hit the Koppenberg with a 19-second lead over Loockx and Vandebosch. Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions) made inroads on a solo effort to claw his technique to inside 5 seconds of the 2 chasing Belgians.
Van der Haar was the one one of many 5 to not make a motorcycle change to start out the fourth circuit, and moved to the entrance, placing in time alongside all of the twists and turns. By the point he started the ascent of the Koppenberg to start out the fifth lap, he had a 28-second hole to Isyerbyt and one other 9 seconds to Toon Aerts.
The bell lap noticed Van der Haar proceed to make fewer small errors as he powered away from 4 Belgians within the chase, however he admitted on the end that he had a difficulty together with his chain.
Iserbyt put in somewhat extra time to Aerts to kind the rostrum positions, whereas Vanthourenhout and Nys, final yr’s winner, marked one another, greater than 20 seconds behind Aerts and 1:20 off the searing tempo of Van der Haar.
Outcomes
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