The final race weekend of the season kicked off on Saturday with the Ethias Cross in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. In the Women's Elite race, Annemarie Worst (Team 777) was able to confirm her 2nd place finish from last year's race. At the beginning she was sitting in 2nd place behind Marie Schreiber, but was quickly overtaken by fellow countrywoman and European Champion, Lucinda Brand, who focused on the top spot. In Lucinda's slipstream Denise Betsema, Aniek van Alphen (Team 777) and Zoe Backstedt stormed towards the front of the pack. Later Backstedt would crash, allowing Brand and Worst to build up a small lead over Betsema and van Alphen. At the halfway point of the race, Brand launched an attack and was able to take the lead, with Denise Betsema and Annemarie Worst in tow. Later, Annemarie managed to pass Denise, but Lucinda was already too far away, so Annemarie had to settle for 2nd place as the rain set in.
Aniek van Alphen finished in 4th place, Belgian record champion Sanne Cant (IKO-Crelan) had to settle for 5th place after a long season, one minute behind Aniek.
In the Men's Elite race, Jens Adams (Hollebeekhoeve) brought home a good 7th place in a strong field.
In the U23 Juniors race, Aaron Dockx finished 3rd, 24 seconds behind winner and reigning Dutch champion David Haverdings and reigning Belgian champion, Yordi Corsus.
On Sunday, the International Sluitingsprijs event, held in Oostmalle, Belgium, marked the end of the cross-country season in Europe. Held in the nature reserve around the Oostmalle airport, the "sand pit of Kempen" with its challenging course attracts Europe's best cyclocross riders year after year.
In the Women's Elite race, Annemarie Worst (Team 777) was able to break away from a four-man field early on to take the lead. At the end of the 45-minute race, Annemarie crossed the finish line some eight seconds ahead of 2nd-placed Denise Betsema. After her 5th place in Sint-Niklaas on Saturday, Sanne Cant (IKO-Crelan) also finished 5th in Oostmalle, Aniek van Alphen (Team 777) came in 6th, at the same time as Sanne. IKO-Crelan rider Marthe Truyen completed the top 10.
After finishing 7th on Saturday, Jens Adams (Hollebeekhoeve) was able to improve a lot on Sunday and finished in an excellent 2nd place. Already in lap one Jens held close contact to the leading pack, but after a small mistake halfway through the race he had to let go a bit. Laurens Sweeck was able to gain an advantage at the front and brought home the win with a five-second lead over Jens. Jens Adams managed to pass Nys Thibau in the final final stages of the race for the runner-up spot. Mees Hendrikx ended the final race of the season sitting in 7th place.
In the U23 Juniors race, David Haverdings and Aaron Dockx (IKO-Crelan) battled it out. While David was able to secure the win, Aaron, who crossed the finish line at the same time, had to settle for 2nd place at the end of the season.
