Driving errors on the hard and muddy Namur circuit They prevented the reigning champion, Lars Van der Haar, from defending his title in a race played in true survival mode and in which the ruler of the season, Eli Iserbyt, ended up opting for retirement.
After a start to the season marked by very fast races, there was already the desire to enjoy a test of authentic cyclocross.
We had to wait until the European Championship, of which It is usually one of the most selective routes on the calendar.so that the mud would make its appearance giving us a true race of natural selection.
The test began with Eli Iserbyt trying to continue the dominance he showed for the whole season, but not a single lap had elapsed when, facing the more technical part of the circuit, in a section of half slope, he was forced to dismount and the chain also got entangled, dropping to 7th place with more than 20 seconds caved in on the head. From there he would have done nothing but lose positions until finally opting for abandonment.
It looked like it was going to be the day for reigning champion Lars Van der Haar again who took advantage of the circumstance to put land in the middle with only Michael Vanthourenhout who was able to react and go in pursuit.
Then the Dutchman started showing his problems in dealing with the most difficult sections of the Walloon track. A first fall created the Vanthourenhout connection. On the next lap it would be the Belgian who made a mistake that gave Van der Haar a second chance but his slight advantage was neutralized after a bike change in which Vanthourenhout would have taken the opportunity to open more than 15 seconds, halfway through the race in a gap that would end up being definitive after continuing to accumulate Van der Haar’s driving errors in the mud.
Behind, in no man’s land, Laurens Sweeck He got rid of his companions, on which he had opened a passage but without ever threatening the head of the race.
In the end, the championship went to a solid Vanthourenhout who drove tremendously efficiently on the complicated Namur track while Van der Haar had to settle for silver in a race that certainly didn’t leave a bad taste in his mouth.
For its part, Alicante Felipe Ortsin a race of continuous struggle against the elements, he succeeded in affirming his good technique by climbing to a meritorious one 6º given that for a few seconds it was not Top 5.
Elite male ranking
- Michael Vanthourenhout (Belgica) 1h06’47 ”
- Lars Van der Haar (Netherlands) +40 ”
- Laurens Sweeck (Belgica) + 2’17 ”
- Joris Nieuwenhuis (Netherlands) + 2’48 ”
- Kevin Kuhn (Suiza) + 2’51 ”
- Felipe Orts (Spain) + 2’54 ”
- Michael Boros (Czech Republic) + 3’03 ”
- Toon Vandebosch (Belgica) + 3’13 ”
- Mees Hendrikx (Netherlands) + 3’16 ‘
- Timon Rüegg (Suiza) + 3’22 ”
The women’s race was held with the prior doubt of know the true form of Pauline Ferrand-Prevod after his eventful debut a few days earlier at Koppenbergcross where a mechanical problem with his Pinarello prevented him from finishing higher.
The Namur circuit, after the rains of the previous days and having dried up a little on the day of the test, added to the hardness of the ramps that surround the citadel of the Walloon town a land completely destroyed after the contestation, a few hours before, of the sub23 test which propitiated a tremendously selective race from the very first meters.
After the departure, no surprises, strongest so far this season: Fem Van Empel, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Denise Betsema, plus Marianne Vos who was trying to be in the leading positions at the start, quickly gained the top positions opening important gaps from the first lap.
was not among them Pauline Ferrand-Prevot who started late without being able to go up beyond the 7th position he would occupy at the end of the test, even if almost 2 and a half minutes behind the winner.
A victory that fell, once again, on the great dominatrix of the season, the very young Fem Van Empel who won the European cyclocross championship with almost no opposition. Not even a mechanical failure, just as he was passing the pit lane, forcing him to shoulder the bike in order to get on and change bikes, added some excitement to the race.
She was seconded on the podium by her compatriot Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and the Hungarian, another of the protagonists of this start of the season, Kata Blanka Vas.
Elite female ranking
- Fem Van Empel (Netherlands) 50’25 ”
- Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Netherlands) +22 ”
- Kata Blanka Vas (Hungary) +36 ”
- Denise Betsema (Netherlands) +46 ”
- Sara Casasola (Italy) + 1’53 ”
- Inge Van der Heijden (Paises Bajos) + 2’06 ”
- Pauline Ferrand-Prevod (France) + 2’26 ”
- Aniek Van Alphen (Paises Bajos) + 2’56 ”
- Marianne Vos (Netherlands) + 3’07 ”
- Anna Kay (Great Britain) + 3’15 ”
