Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) secured a solo victory at the X2O Trofee Kortrijk - Urban Cross in what marked his first victory of the cyclocross season.
Wearing the World Champion's rainbow jersey, Pidcock crossed the finish line three seconds ahead of a two-up sprint for second place won by Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) with Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal) in third.
"It’s ‘moie overwinning in mijn mooie trui’ [it’s nice to win in my nice jersey]," Pidcock said in a post-race interview.
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"It was hard, it was just super fast. I got a bit of a gap, but I couldn’t really extend the gap. It was just always Lars and Eli chasing. It was a hard race trying to stay focused and keep my pace," he said.
"I kind of knew if them two came together they would be kind of thinking for the overall, and sure enough when they got together, I got a bit more of a gap. It was a hard race, similar to last Saturday [UCI World Cup Overijse]. But much better than that."
Several course changes marked this year's X2O Trofee Kortrijk - Urban Cross, the second round of the series, as a blistering start saw a group of five take an early lead.
Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal), Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions), Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions), European Champion Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal), World Champion Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) opened a sizeable gap on the first lap.
However, it was only a short time before the Pidcock made a bid for a solo break.
He opened his gap with a strong run through the sand pit, and at the start of the next lap, he had nine seconds in hand. The move forced Van der Haar, Vanthourenhout and Iserbyt to chase, as Nys fell off the pace.
Pidcock, racing his third event of the season, maintained his nine-second lead into the fourth lap (of nine), unable to completely shake the fierce chase behind. Van der Haar's power and technical skill across the circuit closely matched Pidcock's. His efforts in second place forced a gap to open ahead of the Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal teammates Vantourenhout and Iserbyt.
Racing through the pits to grab a new bike and some nourishment, Pidcock took in a gel to top up his sugar levels mid-race, perhaps feeling a little low on energy, but he appeared to be back in control at the front of the race going into the fifth lap.
The front riders separated on lap six, with Pidcock holding nine seconds on van der Haar, 12 seconds on Iserbyt and 16 seconds on Vanthourenhout.
Van der Haar slashed the gap to Pidcock to just six seconds with three laps to go. However, the Dutch Champion was soon joined by a determined Iserbyt, reigniting the race for second place.
Iserbyt moved ahead of van der Haar, appearing to gain a second wind with two laps remaining, as the pair raced for time in the X2O Trofee overall series standings. Even with the power of two chasing, Iserbyt and van der Haar weren't strong enough to bring Pidcock back before the penultimate circuit.
Pidcock pushed his lead from 12 seconds to 17 at the start of the final lap, which assured the victory.
In the race for second, a slip of the pedals caused van der Haar to lose contact with Iserbyt. But in a strong comeback, he caught up and then sprinted past Iserbyt to take second place on the day.
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