Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) took his first Cyclocross World Cup win in two years at the first European round of 2023 in Maasmechelen, Belgium, going one better than last year when he finished as runner-up.
He capitalised on minor mistakes from Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels-Sauzen-Bingoal) and teammate Thibau Nys and attacked to build a slim lead that he maintained all the way to the line after just over an hour of racing.
“It’s very important for me, winning is not easy. There are some really good guys, some young guys and today I really benefitted from my teammates,” said Van der Haar.
“It was a really hard race, but luckily it was just really hard from the sandpit to the finish line and the rest you couldn’t make up much time on. It was all about trying to focus on the hard part and then try not to make any mistakes.”
Van der Haar also revealed that his race nearly unravelled with a late puncture, but he was thankfully close enough to the pits to change bikes and hold his lead.
“I flatted with two laps to go so I thought it was over, but luckily it was not too far to the pit.”
Mistakes characterised Iserbyt’s race as he took minor tumbles and got caught on wooden posts throughout the eight-lap race, with World Cup series leader Nys simply not able to match the pace of his teammate and suffering a crash on the final lap.
This is Van der Haar’s second win of the season after taking victory in last Wednesday’s Kiremko Nacht van Woerden. Last year’s winner in Maasmechelen, Laurens Sweek (Crelan-Corendon) looked strong, but a rear-wheel puncture ruined his chances of fighting for the win.
Iserbyt and Sweek rounded out the podium behind with Nys dropping all the way down to seventh after entering the round as the favourite.
How It Unfolded
Van der Haar had the best start alongside Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in Maasmechelen, shooting off the line and into the first corner as Iserbyt and Nys were forced to move up through the positions.
European Champion Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels-Sauzen-Bingoal) moved into control of the race before the first passage of the sandpit, but he then got stuck at the crest of one of the muddy ramps. This allowed Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions) to get a small gap at the head of the race.
Vanthourenhout was the only rider on Ronhaar’s wheel for a period of time as Iserbyt allowed his teammate’s wheel to go, forcing the others into possibly chasing. Nys and Van der Haar took up the job before the Belgian made a small mistake allowing them both to get away from him momentarily.
Nys hit the front as expected on lap four as the favourite coming into the day and was met by boos from the Belgian crowd. His team in the lead did not for long, however, as Iserbyt and Van der Haar quickly joined him and he began to look tired.
A further mistake from Iserbyt gave Van der Haar the opportunity to execute the race-winning attack, as he got stuck again after an unplanned dismount where the DUtch Champion kept up his speed and moved away.
Nys clearly didn’t have it, perhaps labouring from his explosive start to the season, which is understandable given how he is still only 20. But a late crash in the now deep muddy ruts created by the women’s and men’s aggressive racing throughout ruined his possible podium and he eventually rolled in for seventh.
Van der Haar kept it the cleanest of any of the leading ten riders, staying on his bike the most and not falling victim to the course which increased in difficulty as the day went on.
The riders will now head to Wednesday’s iconic Koppenbergcross race for a brutal round of racing ahead of the European Championships next weekend in Pontchâteau.
Results
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