Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) defeated Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) at the Exact Cross Essen and beat his compatriot to the finish line after a thrilling final duel.
The pair led the race on the final lap after breaking away from an elite lead group, with Vandeputte taking the lead in the final stretch of the course. In the last corner of the home straight, Vandeputte slipped briefly and didn’t pedal fast enough.
That gave the 30-year-old Sweeck the opportunity to break away from the wheel on the final straight, sprint around and sprint to victory, his first cyclocross triumph since the end of the 2022-23 season.
Four seconds further back, Jens Adams (Lotto-X Oats-Athletes for Hope) secured third place and completed the podium. He defeated another Belgian, Lander Loockx (TDT-Unibet), in the final sprint to the finish line.
“I didn’t expect to win here straight away because the rest already had a lot of competition in their legs and I had to endure the race for a bit longer,” said Sweeck after his victory WielerFlits.
“I actually couldn’t have started better. I think I was a bit lucky that Niels stalled in the last corner, because basically you can’t catch Niels there because he’s fast too.”
“It was a little nervous. The wind played a role on the longer sections at the start of the route. There was always a slight crowd in the direction of the forest. I was able to stay in a good position throughout the race.”
“This is a very important win for me because it has been a long time since I won.”
The biggest difference in the race came on the third of eleven laps, when Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens-FSP) set a high pace at the front. His acceleration split the lead group, leaving seven men at the front.
Up there were Sweeck, Vandeputte, Adams, Loockx and Aerts as well as Corne van Kessel (Deschacht-Hens-FSP) and Toon Vandebosch (Crelan-Corendon).
However, the following lap saw a regrouping as more riders made it through, leaving a large lead group at the front of the race at the halfway point. On the seventh lap, the same seven riders managed to move into the lead, although Aerts lost 20 seconds and was forced into pursuit due to a problem with his chain.
In the final laps, both Aerts and Ward Huybs (Baloise Trek Lions) made their way to the lead. The pair managed to move up to eighth place in the eighth round, setting up a grand finale.
This situation continued until the final lap of the race, where all eight had a chance of winning. At the front it was Loockx and Huybs who started at high speed, while Sweeck also tried to keep going.
In the end, Sweeck provoked the victory split by pulling away at the front along with Vandeputte and creating a two-man battle for the race win. In his first start of the season, Sweeck took victory, while Vandeputte, who finished third at the Exact Cross in Beringen last week, had to settle for another podium finish.
Results
Results provided by FirstCycling
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