9/16/2023 0 Comments Katie compton world cup![]() ![]() The women’s race was preceded by a poignant, one minute silence to remember Annefleur Kalvenhaar who died in a race accident earlier this year. Winning at Ronse without his major rivals seemed like an easy win, but his World Cup ride proved that Ronse wasn’t a fluke. The collarbone injury might still be an issue.ĭespite the difficulties of van der Poel and Van Aert, nothing should be taken from Vanthourenhout, who had a remarkable race. I managed to do that but I wasn’t feeling great” he explained later. ![]() In the last two laps I gave everything I had to finish second. I changed to tyres with higher pressure and went a bit better but it only started to feel better in the second half of the race. “ In the first half of the race, I wasn’t feeling great and also my tyres were a little bit too soft. In the first few laps, one rider was missing from the mix: current World Champion, Wout Van Aert. Surprisingly, though, van der Poel faded after the second lap and ended up finishing a minute and a half behind the lanky Belgian. He was pursued by van der Poel and it seemed only a matter of time before he would be caught and left behind. Just like last year – or last week, for that matter – Michael Vanthourenhout attacked from the start and established a 20-30 second gap to his chasers. As I prepared for this race, I remembered how the race unfolded last year: van der Poel lost a lot of time right off the bat due to a tussle after the start, yet he managed to fight his way back onto the third step of the podium. The U23 race brought the first face-off between Mathieu van der Poel and the rest of the U23 field, who haven’t ‘upgraded’ to the elite men in the other series’ as van der Poel has. Interestingly, this became the template for the other classifications throughout the day, as well. He pulled away from the field early on and it soon became clear that Max Gulickx and Johan Jacobs were only fighting for the remaining podium places. The day kicked off with the juniors’ race, which was won by Belgian National Champion Eli Iserbyt. Yet, seeing riders from numerous countries, who don’t normally compete at Superprestiges and Bpost Bank Trofees, gives hope that the internationalization of cyclocross will not remain an empty promise. I love the sport’s Belgian heritage and only a few crowds can match the enthusiasm of theirs. The analogy isn’t one hundred percent accurate, as most riders have completed a couple of races before the first World Cup however, this is the first time that the Belgians, and those who predominantly race in Belgium, meet with racers from all over the world. You start with a clean slate, and after a busy summer, you feel you are capable of anything. You are happy to see old friends and, with luck, meet a few new. The sun is still shining but the leaves are beginning to fall. (Word edits by Nicholas Lemke)Įach year, the first World Cup feels like the first day of school. Enjoy the World Cup Valkenburg gallery and race report below. ![]()
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