On Saturday, the UCI called for the second round of the World Cup in Koksijde and all but one of the top riders were at the start of the race through the Koksijde thins. Only the World Cup leader, Lars van der Haar, had to cancel his start with a fever. Nevertheless, the field of riders was strong, as some U23 riders do not run the U23 race, which is not included in the World Cup ranking, but start with the men.
van Aert lonely top
Under the eyes of Niels Albert, who has not been able to actively compete in the races since this year due to heart disease, but who is involved as a trainer in the Vastgoed Service - Golden Palace team, the young guns started quickly and took the lead in the race early on. Already in the second round, the U23 World Champion Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel pulled away from the rest, only to lose Mathieu van der Poel a little later. With such a high pace, van Aert dominated the race and gave his pursuers no chance and won the race with ease. In the battle for second place, only Kevin Pauwels could intervene, who caught up with van der Poel on the penultimate lap and also left him standing. With this second place, Pauwels was able to take over the jersey of the World Cup leader.
Van der Poel secured the last place on the podium, while Philip Walsleben finished 8th as the best German.
Germans convince in the junior classes
In the races of the U23 and U19 junior classes, the German drivers were able to achieve strong results. In the absence of van Aert and van der Poel, Paul Lindenau rode to his strongest international result to date in 14th place.
The fourth place of Hamburg's Ludwig Cords, who only just missed the podium in a well-occupied race, should be rated a little better.
Vervecken is building a new track at Spa-Francorchamps
Another round of the Superprestige series continued on Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps. Former Cross World Champion Erwin Vervecken had marked out a very demanding course on the grounds of the Belgian Formula 1 circuit. The start and finish straight was dotted with a climb that could also be seen in the Ardennes classics and there were also occasional off-road events.
Van Aerts can't even stop flat feet
Once again, the two best men in the men's race from Koksijde did best on the course. However, Wout van Aert starts again today in the world champion jersey in the U23 race. Here he fought a strong race with Michael Vanthourenhout until 3 laps before the end van Aert lost the connection with two punctures and the race looked decided. But in a fantastic race to catch up, van Aert caught Vanthourenhout in the last meters. And secured the second win this weekend. Toon Aerts from the Telenet-Fidea team finished third.
Pauwels wins thanks to a fall from Van der Haar
In the men's race, new overall leaders of the World Cup could certainly assert themselves. In a strong two-way battle between Kevin Pauwels and Lars van der Haar, only a fall in the last lap brought the decision. In a fast passage, van der Haar slipped on a root and had to let Pauwels pass. He lost the decisive meters and could not catch up to the finish line. With this victory, Pauwels was also able to secure the second leader's jersey this weekend and now leads this overall ranking with the same number of points ahead of Lars van der Haar.
The German drivers drove a strong first half in this race, but it cost Philip Walsleben and Sascha Weber so much energy that they had to end the race early. Marcel Meisen was the best German in 15th place.
First World Cup in Great Britain
Further points for the World Cup will be awarded next Saturday. This year, for the first time, it's going to Great Britain, where Campbell Park in Milton Keynes is being plowed up properly. On Sunday, most of the starters in Hamme will continue straight away in the further run of the BPost Bank Trofee. In Germany, meanwhile, the regional national association championships are taking place.