Iserbyt and Vanthourenhout finish on podium and close gap to series leader Van der Haar
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Wout van Aert celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win Superprestige Gullegem(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Jumbo-Visma's Wout van Aert wins Superprestige Gullegem on a wet, windy day(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Michael Vanthourenhout finished third at Superprestige Gullegem and held his second place in the series standings(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Final elite men's podium (L to R): Eli Iserbyt in second place, winner Wout van Aert and Michael Vanthourenhout in third (Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Wout van Aert did not allow the deep mud to slow his progress during Superprestige Gullegem(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Lars Van Der Haar, the leader in the Superprestige series, glides over the pump-track barriers during the men's elite race(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Spanish rider Felipe Orts Lloret stayed in the front group for the early laps(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Niels Vandeputte chased all day and finished eighth(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Wout van Aert on his way to his first victory in Gullegem(Image credit: DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) ran away with the victory at Superprestige Gullegem on Saturday for his seventh win of the season. He created the decisive separation from Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) with three laps to go and won handily by 21 seconds.
Michael Vanthourenhout made it a pair of Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal riders on the podium with a third-place finish, 41 seconds back.
As the penultimate round of the Superprestige, Dutch champion Lars van der Haar entered the day with a seven-point advantage over Vanthourenhout, the European Champion, in the overall standings, with Iserbyt nine points back. The standings would tighten by only a single point at the end, as Van der Haar crossed the line in Gullegem in fourth place.
Van Aert began the race at the back of a five-rider lead group of usual suspects, and rode aggressively in the middle laps to drop the challengers one by one. Absent from the field was Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who was expected to return to the fray on Sunday for World Cup Zonhoven on Sunday.
“I think the last two weeks went really well, a couple of nice victories, especially at Superprestige like the race in Diegem it was hard for me to win it. Here in Gullegem it is my first time I can win this race with the new organisation and I’m really happy with it,” Van Aert said at the finish.
Van der Haar took control at the front of the field on the first zigzag corners and mini pump-track barriers to open the race. The rain and wind had increased since earlier races and the field spread out quickly due to the deteriorating, slippery conditions.
Across the sand for the first time, a lead group formed behind of Van der Haar with Iserbyt, Vanthourenhout, Felipe Orts Lloret (Teika-BH-GSport) and Van Aert, biding his time. The chase group led by Kevin Kuhn (Tormans Cyclo Cross Team), Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Curtis White (Steve Tilford Foundation) trailing by a few seconds in sixth.
To start the third lap, Van Aert made a huge pass of the four riders in front of him on the pavement but did not shake his companions. On a tight 180-degree corner before the sand, Van Aert’s pedal hit a banner stake and the mistake allowed European Champion to steal to the front. Vanthourenhout could not get away, as Van Aert, Iserbyt and Van der Haar stayed intact at the front. Orts Lloret rode in fifth solo, 20 seconds back.
On the fourth lap, Van der Haar began to lose ground from the trio, riding just under 10 seconds back, and one lap later Iserbyt trailed by just a few seconds in solo third but kept Van Aert and Vanthourenhout in sight and worked back to Vanthourenhout's wheel.
It was in the sand pit on the fifth lap that Van Aert hit the gas and Vanthourenhout seemed to struggle, exiting well behind Iserbyt. He later said it was a mechanical that slowed his progress. The tone of the wet race had changed.
While the wind abated on the final laps, the driving pace of Van Aert did not relax as the Belgian champion picked up a handful of seconds on each of the final laps over Iserbyt to secure his third consecutive victory in the Superprestige series.
“Just when Wout accelerated, halfway through the cross, I didn't have the power," Iserbyt said after the finish. "He rode impressively through the mud there."
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).
