Niels Vandeputte did everything right on the muddy technical course in Hulst, soloing to his first-ever World Cup victory. The win in the Netherlands marked the third triumph of the season for the 24-year-old Alpecin-Deceuninck rider.
Just like in the women’s race, Vandeputte surged ahead on the first lap and steadily extended his lead throughout the seven-lap contest. He built a commanding 31-second advantage before the chasers closed the gap in the final two laps. In the end, Vandeputte held on to win by 9 seconds over second-place finisher Felipe Orts (Ridley).
Behind the Belgian, the race shuffled and reshuffled until Orts, Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions), and Emiel Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon) were separated by only a few seconds each at the start of the penultimate lap. Orts applied pressure, pulling away and closing the gap down to nine seconds. Ronhaar managed to drop Iserbyt on the bell lap to take third place, and claim his first World Cup podium.
“I felt great today, both technically and physically. I had a great start from the second row and I thought in the first lap, yeah let's just put some pressure on the other guys and I got a small gap and then you don't have to wait,” said Vandeputte.
“I didn't expect in the first lap to be able to keep the gap the entire race, but I'm very happy that I managed to finish it off today.”
Though this season Vandeputte has won the Brumath and the X2O Badkamers Trofee in Hamme, he admitted that winning a World Cup race meant “a lot.”
“I’ve won a few bigger races now, but the World Cup is just another level, and especially now at the start of the Christmas period, this gives a big morale boost as well, and I'm very excited now for the races that are coming up.”
How it unfolded
Vandeputte came around Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) who had taken the holeshot to set the pace at the front of the 66-rider field, and by the end of the first lap, established a small three-second gap on his chasers. Behind him, Orts, Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions), Ronhaar, Iserbyt, Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) lined up on the muddy technical course.
Vanthourenhout, who had started to pull away, crashed on a steep downhill, flipping over his handlebar and though he was able to get back on his bike and rejoin the chase group, it was just the first of many issues for the Belgian that ultimately took him out of contention.
Positions in the chase group continued to change, as the course took its toll on many of the riders.
After three laps, Vandeputte has pushed his lead to 31 seconds, as Orts led the chase.
By the start of the fifth lap, Vandeputte had a lead of 24 seconds to Orts and Iserbyrt with Verstrynge and Ronhaar closing in behind them. Vanthourenhout had dropped down to ninth place, while a surging Cameron Mason (Cyclocross Reds) was moving up after starting in the fourth row.
Orts pulled away solo in second place to try and chase down Vandeputte but the Spanish rider had to settle for second place. Ronhaar closed and passed Iserbyt for the final podium spot. Iserbyt took fourth and Mason was fifth.
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