Mathieu van der Poel and Sanne Cant started the new season just like they ended the previous one – with a win.
While at the race in Eeklo, Belgium categorized by the UCI as C2 the podium featured Michael Vanthourenhout in third and World Champion Wout van Aert in second, the expected duel between van der Poel, Beobank-Corendon, and van Aert did not happen. In the first lap already the Dutch champion gained a decisive lead and kept it until his eventual solo victory.
The chase group consisted of van Aert, Laurens Sweeck of ERA-Circus, Michael Vanthourenhout, Kevin Pauwels, later joined by Gianni Vermeersch and Corne van Kessel.
Three laps before the finish Laurens Sweeck attacked from the group but was unable to keep Vanthourenhout and later van Aert from catching up. Eventually, van Aert won the sprint for second place. Sweeck came in fourth. About this he later said: ”It was obvious from very early on that we would fight for second place. Lastly, I am happy that the ’cross season has finally started.”
Sanne Cant Happy With New Bike And Start Of The Season
The Women’s Elite race featured four riders fighting for the lead with World Champion Sanne Cant (Enertherm-Beobank), Ellen van Loy, Sophie de Boer and Maud Kaptheijns. It wasn’t until right before the finish when the race became a duel between van Loy and Cant, that Cant eventually won with a generous 11-second margin.
She later wrote on Instagram about her new STEVENS Super Prestige that she was ”super happy”. She also was glad to have won the first race of the season, since in the run-up you would not know how good in shape you actually are.
For U23 World Champion Annemarie Worst (ERA-Circus) the race for a top spot was done when she suffered a mechanical. After having to carry her bike over a long distance to the technical zone she had fallen back to place 22 and eventually was able to fight her way back to 17th place. Sanne Cant, Mathieu van der Poel und Laurens Sweeck will now head to Iowa City/USA where the upcoming weekend the first World Cup race of the season will take place.
