Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) made a move with three laps to go and rode away for the victory at Koppenbergcross. Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) finished second, 34 seconds back, and Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens-FSP) took third, another 20 seconds down.
Last year's X2O Trofee cyclocross series champion took the early lead in the eight-race series with the victory. A four-time Dutch champion, it was Van der Haar's second career win at Koppenbergcross after a second-place finish to teammate Thibau Nys a year ago.
"To me, the Koppenberg has always been one of the most important races. I have raced here since juniors. I've always had the dream to win here in the elite on the cobblestones, and now I have two," Van der Haar said at the finish to broadcasters.
The 'mad duck' race covered seven laps for the elite men. Skies delivered a thin mist in the morning and made the leaf-covered cobbles slippery, as well as the many sharp corners on the grassy hillside that seemed to deliver riders to a ribbon of punchy climbs, making it difficult to maintain any rhythm.
Yorben Lauryssen (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) took the early lead, with Belgian champion and teammate Iserbyt and Thijs Aerts (Charles Liégeois Rostery CX) forming a two-rider chase behind.
There was no panic from the peloton, which remained together in a long line for the opening lap, and Iserbyt claimed the lead across the first ascent of the Koppenberg, making a bike switch at the pits to begin the second lap. Iserbyt also took a time bonus as the first rider over the signature cobbled climb.
Across the twisting section of the course on lap two, European cyclocross champion Michael Vanthourenhout bridged to his teammate and the pair put in five seconds to a new chasing trio - Toon Aerts, Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions), and Lander Loockx, who fell back when he slipped sideways on a short uphill section.
The front four riders came together, with Loockx joined by a lone Dutchman Van der Haar close behind on the third lap. With riders unclipping to preserve upright positions on the damp path, Loockx dropped back and Van der Haar joined the front four. They remained together and stretched the lead to seven seconds.
Iserbyt had to dismount to avoid a fall at the midpoint of lap three on a slippery patch, then jumped back on the bike to maintain contact with the lead group. A few turns later, Nys made an acceleration to take a small lead. The move pushed the pace of the front five and they hit the Koppenberg with a 19-second lead over Loockx and Vandebosch. Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions) made inroads on a solo effort to claw his way to within 5 seconds of the two chasing Belgians.
Van der Haar was the only one of the five not to make a bike change to start the fourth circuit, and moved to the front, putting in time along all the twists and turns. By the time he began the ascent of the Koppenberg to start the fifth lap, he had a 28-second gap to Isyerbyt and another 9 seconds to Toon Aerts.
The bell lap saw Van der Haar continue to make fewer small mistakes as he powered away from four Belgians in the chase, but he admitted at the finish that he had an issue with his chain.
Iserbyt put in a little more time to Aerts to form the podium positions, while Vanthourenhout and Nys, last year's winner, marked each other, more than 20 seconds behind Aerts and 1:20 off the searing pace of Van der Haar.
Results
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