Newly crowned European cyclocross champion Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions) powered away with three laps to go to ride away for the victory at Rapencross, the second round of the X2O Trofee.
Niels Vanderputte dropped his Alpecin-Deceuninck Development teammate Jente Michels on the ninth and final lap to take second place, crossing the line five seconds behind Nys. Michels, the under-23 European cyclocross champion, rounded out the podium in third place, another two seconds back.
“Every win is important for me, not because of riding the first time in this jersey, but just in general, winning is always important to me and it always means a lot. That's why we train every day and we go to bed early and we eat what we have to eat,” Nys said.
Halfway through the nine-lap race, Nys capitalized on a mechanical issue suffered by rival, Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) following a fall, to ride away from the lead group with only Laurens Sweeck (Alpecin-Deceuninck) able to stay on his wheel.
“This was great,” Nys told broadcasters, according to WielerFlits. “In the second round I got some space, but then I had to get into it. It was wise not to push the gas full on there, but to let myself slide with the other guys. Eli's fall was the moment to open the gas. My technique and my legs finally got into rhythm. It loosened up, and then I had to keep riding.”
Iserbyt took charge at the front early on the 2.6km technical course centred around steep Mont Henri. By the second lap, Nys had taken over the front, using his explosivity to open up a small gap while his teammate Lars van der Haar assisted with some blocking, putting Iserbyrt and the others under pressure.
Iserbyt fought his way to the front chopping Van der Haar at one point to bring the gap back. After four laps of racing, Nys, Van der Haar, Sweeck and Vanderputte were off the front with Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché-Wanty) and Michels chasing.
Disaster struck for Iserbyt who went down on an off-camber section, causing his derailleur to get stuck in the biggest gear. The Belgian stopped and turned his bike upside down to fix the problem before remounting, having lost 30 seconds.
Nys made his move with only Sweeck on his wheel, but with three laps to go, the 21-year-old Nys was off the front solo. Meanwhile, Michels had connected with Vanderputte to battle it out for the remaining podium places.
The only rider to break the Belgian grip on the top 10, four-time Dutch champion Van der Haar finished fourth and held on to the series lead. Iserbyt finished fifth.
Results
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