Baestaens best in Belgium
Belgian sprints to victory over Meisen, takes World Cup lead
Vincent Baestaens (Belgium) won the first round of the UCI's cyclo-cross World Cup for the Men Under 23 riders in Koksijde, Belgium. The Belgian won a two-man sprint from Marcel Meisen (Germany). European champion Lars van der Haar (Netherlands) completed the podium.
In cold but sunny weather six riders separated themselves from the rest of the field early on. At halfway Vinnie Braet (Belgium) got dropped while Meisen and Wietse Bosmans (Belgium) were struggling to keep up with the pace set by Van der Haar, Baestaens and Belgian champion Jim Aernouts.
None of these three riders was able to set a pace that created definitive gaps and on the home straight the pace always dropped back.
For Meisen, that was the moment to rejoin the leaders. The German did that almost every lap until the group hit the final lap. Then the German moved up and in the difficult sand section he even took the lead. Behind him mistakes were made and suddenly it seemed Meisen would win the World Cup round.
“I choose to ride at the back of the group to save energy. During the last lap the sand section was crucial and the win was almost in the bag but then I made a mistake,” Meisen told Cyclingnews.
Baestaens caught up with Meisen before the final obstacles and in the sprint he easily powered away from the German.
“Today I was a bit lucky but I did take the race in my hands. I believed in my chances and in the finale I was able to get back to the leader on my own. The sprint wasn't fast. The one with the most left in his tank won it,” Baestaens said.
As a result Baestaens will sport the jersey of World Cup leader on home soil in Kalmthout during the second round of the Men U23 World Cup.
1 | Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Belgium | 0:55:42 | Row 0 - Cell 3 |
2 | Marcel Meisen (Ger) Germany | Row 1 - Cell 2 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Netherlands | 0:00:04 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Jim Aernouts (Bel) Belgium | 0:00:15 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Wietse Bosmans (Bel) Belgium | 0:00:39 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Joeri Adams (Bel) Belgium | 0:00:47 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Vinnie Braet (Bel) Belgium | 0:00:58 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Michiel Van Der Heijden (Ned) Netherlands | 0:00:59 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Kevin Eeckhout (Bel) Belgium-B | 0:01:04 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Tijmen Eising (Ned) Netherlands | 0:01:23 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Sean De Bie (Bel) Belgium | 0:01:38 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) France | 0:01:46 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Marek Konwa (Pol) Poland | 0:01:47 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Micki Van Empel (Ned) Netherlands | 0:01:53 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Sven Beelen (Bel) Belgium-B | 0:02:01 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Jiri Polnicky (Cze) Czech Republic | 0:02:10 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Italy | 0:02:46 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Ole Quast (Ger) Germany | 0:02:47 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Angelo De Clercq (Bel) Belgium-B | Row 18 - Cell 2 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Melvin Rulliere (Fra) France | 0:02:49 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Jens Adams (Bel) Belgium-B | 0:02:51 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
22 | Irwin Gras (Fra) France | 0:02:58 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
23 | Théo Dumanchin (Fra) France | 0:03:00 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
24 | Gert-Jan Bosman (Ned) Netherlands | 0:03:18 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
25 | Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Netherlands | 0:03:27 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
26 | Michael Schweizer (Ger) Germany | 0:03:37 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
27 | Mirko Tabacchi (Ita) Italy | 0:03:39 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
28 | Kenneth Hansen (Den) Denmark | 0:03:43 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
29 | Matthias Bossuyt (Bel) Belgium-B | 0:03:49 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
30 | Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Belgium-B | 0:03:58 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
31 | Michael Winterberg (Swi) Switzerland | 0:05:11 | Row 30 - Cell 3 |
32 | Luca Braidot (Ita) Italy | 0:05:21 | Row 31 - Cell 3 |
33 | Alexandre Billon (Fra) France | 0:05:34 | Row 32 - Cell 3 |
34 | Radek Polnicky (Cze) Czech Republic | 0:05:35 | Row 33 - Cell 3 |
35 | Michael Boros (Cze) Czech Republic | 0:05:39 | Row 34 - Cell 3 |
36 | Valentin Scherz (Swi) Switzerland | 0:06:12 | Row 35 - Cell 3 |
37 | Théo Vimpere (Fra) France | 0:06:14 | Row 36 - Cell 3 |
38 | Jan Nesvadba (Cze) Czech Republic | 0:07:12 | Row 37 - Cell 3 |
39 | Daniel Summerhill (USA) United States of America | 0:07:57 | Row 38 - Cell 3 |
40 | Max Walsleben (Ger) Germany | 0:08:12 | Row 39 - Cell 3 |
41 | Emilien Barben (Swi) Switzerland | 0:08:20 | Row 40 - Cell 3 |
42 | Elia Silvestri (Ita) Italy | 0:08:38 | Row 41 - Cell 3 |
43 | Dario Stauble (Swi) Switzerland | 0:08:45 | Row 42 - Cell 3 |
44 | Jerome Townsend (USA) United States of America | Row 43 - Cell 2 | -2laps |
45 | Jeremy Ferguson (USA) United States of America | Row 44 - Cell 2 | Row 44 - Cell 3 |
46 | Scott Thiltges (Lux) Luxembourg | Row 45 - Cell 2 | Row 45 - Cell 3 |
47 | Vincent Dias Dos Santos (Lux) Luxembourg | Row 46 - Cell 2 | Row 46 - Cell 3 |
48 | Wojciech Herba (Pol) Poland | Row 47 - Cell 2 | -3laps |
DNF | Bryan Falaschi (Ita) Italy | Row 48 - Cell 2 | Row 48 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Jonas Schau Guddal (Den) Denmark | Row 49 - Cell 2 | Row 49 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Arnaud Grand (Swi) Switzerland | Row 50 - Cell 2 | Row 50 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Tomas Paprstka (Cze) Czech Republic | Row 51 - Cell 2 | Row 51 - Cell 3 |
DNF | Karel Hnik (Cze) Czech Republic | Row 52 - Cell 2 | Row 52 - Cell 3 |
1 | Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Belgium | 60 | pts |
2 | Marcel Meisen (Ger) Germany | 50 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Netherlands | 45 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Jim Aernouts (Bel) Belgium | 40 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Wietse Bosmans (Bel) Belgium | 35 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Joeri Adams (Bel) Belgium | 30 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Vinnie Braet (Bel) Belgium | 28 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Michiel Van Der Heijden (Ned) Netherlands | 26 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Kevin Eeckhout (Bel) Belgium-B | 24 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Tijmen Eising (Ned) Netherlands | 22 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Sean De Bie (Bel) Belgium | 20 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) France | 19 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Marek Konwa (Pol) Poland | 18 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Micki Van Empel (Ned) Netherlands | 17 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Sven Beelen (Bel) Belgium-B | 16 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Jiri Polnicky (Cze) Czech Republic | 15 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Italy | 14 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Ole Quast (Ger) Germany | 13 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Angelo De Clercq (Bel) Belgium-B | 12 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Melvin Rulliere (Fra) France | 11 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Jens Adams (Bel) Belgium-B | 10 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
22 | Irwin Gras (Fra) France | 9 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
23 | Théo Dumanchin (Fra) France | 8 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
24 | Gert-Jan Bosman (Ned) Netherlands | 7 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
25 | Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Netherlands | 6 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
26 | Michael Schweizer (Ger) Germany | 5 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
27 | Mirko Tabacchi (Ita) Italy | 4 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
28 | Kenneth Hansen (Den) Denmark | 3 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
29 | Matthias Bossuyt (Bel) Belgium-B | 2 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
30 | Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Belgium-B | 1 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
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