On the sandy track in Antwerp, Laurens, as a proven sand specialist, was able to put pressure on his rivals right from the start of the race and, together with Eli Iserbyt and Michael Vanthourenhout, pull away from the field by the middle of the 60-minute race. As the race progressed, there was little movement in the leading group and Laurens was able to lay a good foundation for the rest of the 2024/25 World Cup season with second place behind Eli.

The next round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup will take place next Sunday in Dublin, Ireland.

His Crelan Corendon team-mate Joran Wyseure finished 4th in the elite men's race, just behind Laurens, while Sara Casasola just missed out on the podium in the elite women's race with 4th place.

Crelan-Corendon team-mates Marion Norbert Riberolle, Inge van der Heijden and Sanne Cant had already finished 2nd to 4th in the Exact Cross in Kortrijk, Belgium, on Saturday.