Michael Vanthourenhout took his second win of the cyclo-cross season in the HG Cross in Dendermonde, playing off the work of his Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw team to force a selection and then soloing over the course’s biggest obstacle on the last lap.
Yordi Corsus made it a 1-2 for the team, with Joran Wyseure (Crelan-Corendon) out-sprinting Pauwels Sauzen’s Gerben Kuypers to prevent a clean sweep of the podium.
Vanthourenhout attacked into the uphill sand section, powering over the tricky deep sand at the top of the hill while the rest had to dismount, and it was all he needed to get the winning margin.
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“I actually had an idea in my head the whole race to put everything into that final lap,” Vanthourenhout said. “Going up the stairs for the last time, I knew it would be tough for anyone to stay on my wheel. And then I just opened the throttle wide open.
“And then, as Mario De Clercq always says: ride fast where you need to ride fast. And that was simply trying to ride up the sand section well, which worked out right away. Then I knew the barriers suited me well too. From there on, I always tried to ride fast on the sections where I could, and then try to hold onto that lead.”
The Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw team dominated the 10-lap race, lining out the 50-rider field from the start.
Gerben Kuypers (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) led through the opening lap with Cameron Mason (777TV CX).
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At the start of lap 4, Victor Van de Putte (Charles Liegeois CX) led Vanthourenhout, Wyseure, Kuypers, Mason and Ryan Kamp (Bomba Join) but no separation came until much later in the race.
Pauwels Sauzen continued to control the race heading into the halfway point, with Yordi Corsus leading Vanthourenhout and a group of 13 riders with Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) swinging at the back.
Corsus, Wyseure, Vanthourenhout and Kuypers pushed the pace on the fifth lap, getting a little separation after a surge on the sandy climb. They had six seconds at the start of the next round, with Witse Meeussen (Crelan-Corendon) leading the chase with Van de Putte, Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Kamp and Mason.
By the start of lap 7, the quartet had extended their lead to seven seconds on Kamp and Vandeputte, but the rest of the chase had exploded. With Wyseure still in their midst, the Pauwels Sauzen riders sat up slightly in a technical section to let Kuypers go on the attack, forcing the Crelan-Corendon rider to burn matches in pursuit.
Wyseure made a somewhat frustrated surge in response but lost traction on his rear wheel in a turn and lost his momentum. The four riders went into lap eight with Vandeputte in solo pursuit just six seconds behind, Kamp in no-man’s land at 10 seconds, and Mason in a group of three at 17 seconds.
As Wyseure went to the front, Vandeputte made contact with the leaders, and Kamp was closing in, making contact across the pump-track section. The pressure was off, and even Mason and Meeussen were able to rejoin.
Vanthourenhout made an attack at the bell, pulling away with Wyseure and Corsus, but the surge was short-lived. Vandeputte positioned himself in fourth wheel and was a real danger as the top sprinter in the group.
Vanthourenhout had only one weapon against the Alpecin man: his technical skills. He blasted through the sand and rode over the crest, helped by a bobble by Wyseure to open up a gap.
Once there was daylight between him and the chase, Vanthrouenhout opened up the jets and with Wyseure suffering with the Pauwels Sauzen riders on his wheel and Vandeputte sitting on, too, there was no bringing back the lone leader.
Results
|
Position |
Rider (Country) Team |
Time Gap |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
0:59:20 |
|
2 |
Yordi Corsus (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
0:00:02 |
|
3 |
Joran Wyseure (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team |
Row 2 – Cell 2 |
|
4 |
Gerben Kuypers (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
Row 3 – Cell 2 |
|
5 |
Niels Vandeputte (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team |
0:00:04 |
|
6 |
Witse Meeussen (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team |
0:00:12 |
|
7 |
Ryan Kamp (Ned) Team Bomba JOIN |
0:00:15 |
|
8 |
Cameron Mason (GBr) 777TV CX Team |
0:00:18 |
|
9 |
Victor Van De Putte (Bel) Lotto-Groupe Wanty |
0:00:34 |
|
10 |
Toon Vandebosch (Bel) Crelan-Corendon |
0:00:50 |
|
11 |
Anton Ferdinande (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
0:00:54 |
|
12 |
Viktor Vandenberghe (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
0:00:57 |
|
13 |
Kay De Bruyckere (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
0:01:02 |
|
14 |
Lars Corsus (Bel) |
0:01:19 |
|
15 |
Pim Ronhaar (Ned) Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions |
0:01:33 |
|
16 |
Danny Van Lierop (Ned) Heizomat-Cube |
0:01:44 |
|
17 |
Mees Hendrikx (Ned) Team Bomba JOIN |
0:01:51 |
|
18 |
Yorben Lauryssen (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex |
0:01:56 |
|
19 |
Wies Nuyens (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
0:01:59 |
|
20 |
Sil De Brauwere (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
0:02:02 |
|
21 |
Arne Baers (Bel) Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions |
0:02:21 |
|
22 |
Lars Daelmans (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
0:02:30 |
|
23 |
Laurens Sweeck (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team |
0:02:35 |
|
24 |
Ryan Laenen (Bel) |
0:02:47 |
|
25 |
Jari Van Lee (Ned) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
0:03:02 |
|
26 |
Thomas Courcier (Fra) |
0:03:08 |
|
27 |
Rémon Delnoije (Ned) |
0:03:20 |
|
28 |
Matisse Arys (Bel) |
0:03:32 |
|
29 |
Ward Huybs (Bel) |
0:03:36 |
|
30 |
Aubin Villar Thiery (Fra) |
0:04:07 |
|
31 |
Loic Vanlaere (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw |
0:04:11 |
|
32 |
Miel Storms (Bel) |
0:04:24 |
|
33 |
Milan De Nys (Bel) |
0:04:28 |
|
34 |
Arthur Janssens (Bel) |
0:04:31 |
|
35 |
Lars De Nys (Bel) |
0:04:39 |
|
36 |
Dean Harvey (Irl) |
0:04:53 |
|
37 |
Bram Sprangers (Bel) |
0:05:10 |
|
38 |
Bengt Daelmans (Bel) |
0:05:20 |
|
39 |
Carden King (USA) |
Row 38 – Cell 2 |
|
40 |
Len Geerts (Bel) |
Row 39 – Cell 2 |
|
41 |
Tibo Vancompernode (Bel) |
Row 40 – Cell 2 |
|
42 |
Hippolyte Loete (Fra) |
Row 41 – Cell 2 |
|
43 |
Nicola Parenti (Ita) |
Row 42 – Cell 2 |
|
44 |
Filippo Cecchi (Ita) |
Row 43 – Cell 2 |
|
45 |
Brent Maes (Bel) |
Row 44 – Cell 2 |
|
DNF |
Wout Janssen (Bel) |
Row 45 – Cell 2 |
|
DNF |
Antoine Jamin (Bel) |
Row 46 – Cell 2 |
|
DNF |
Jens Dekort (Bel) |
Row 47 – Cell 2 |
|
DNF |
Senn Bossaerts (Bel) |
Row 48 – Cell 2 |
|
DNF |
Federico Ceolin (Ita) FAS Airport Services-Guerciotti |
Row 49 – Cell 2 |