“I want to spoil the fans with nice duels between Mathieu van der Poel and myself. Now that Sven Nys quit racing, I am convinced that Mathieu and I have a big role in keeping our sport attractive.” –Wout van Aert before CrossVegas
Today in Gieten, the Netherlands, at the first stop of the Superprestige cyclocross series, those duels have started, and came to a head with a cold shoulder and dropped chain:
The collision resulted in another unfortunate dropped chain for van Aert and his first loss of the season, while Mathieu van der Poel exceeded all expectations with a victory in his first race back from double knee surgery.
Yesterday’s Soudal Classics winner Laurens Sweeck was third.
Gefeliciteerd @mathieuvdpoel Wat hebben jullie er een spannende koers van gemaakt. SUPER! pic.twitter.com/HQogptcjlX
— SP Gieten 2016 (@SP_Gieten) October 2, 2016
In the women’s race, Sanne Cant showed no lingering signs of a shoulder injury sustained during a crash at the barriers at the Jingle Cross World Cup. Cant told Cyclocross Magazine in Iowa City that she couldn’t lift her bike and would see a doctor in Belgium upon her return.
The shoulder is fine it seems, as Cant was dominant with a 29-second victory over surprise second place Dutch racer Lucinda Brand. Just as with the men’s race, yesterday’s Neerpelt winner Sophie de Boer finished third, a minute behind Cant. Brit Nikki Brammeier (Harris) finished fifth, and American Elle Anderson finished sixth.
De uitslag bij de dames @SP_Gieten @SuperprestigeCX
1e@Sannecant
2e Lucinda Brand
3e Sophie de Boer pic.twitter.com/9hdzA4yDDN— SP Gieten 2016 (@SP_Gieten) October 2, 2016
Notes:
- There were six more women’s competitors than men’s competitors in Gieten.
- Lars van der Haar also returned to racing, finishing 10th.
- Retired-for-two-years Thijs Al returned to the Superprestige, finishing 27th.
- There were both U23 and Junior men’s races at the first stop of the Superprestige, won by Joris Nieuwenhuis and Jelle Camps, respectively.
Uitslag Beloften @SP_Gieten @SuperprestigeCX :
1 Joris Nieuwenhuis (NED)
2 Quinten Hermans (BEL)
3 Yannick Peeters (BEL) pic.twitter.com/zrLbMwUpMx— SP Gieten 2016 (@SP_Gieten) October 2, 2016
Uitslag Junioren @SP_Gieten @SuperprestigeCX .
1 Jelle Camps
2 Toon Vandebosch
3 Thijmen Arensman pic.twitter.com/UWBUGCYriH— SP Gieten 2016 (@SP_Gieten) October 2, 2016
Stay tuned for more Superprestige coverage. Full men’s race video below the results.
2016 Superprestige #1 - Gieten Full Results - Elite Women
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Age* | Result | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanne CANT | BEL | 27 | 43:56:00 | 80 |
| 2 | Lucinda BRAND | NED | 28 | 44:25:00 | 60 |
| 3 | Sophie DE BOER | NED | 27 | 44:57:00 | 40 |
| 4 | Laura VERDONSCHOT | BEL | 21 | 45:11:00 | 30 |
| 5 | Nikki BRAMMEIER | GBR | 31 | 45:21:00 | 25 |
| 6 | Elle ANDERSON | USA | 29 | 45:27:00 | 20 |
| 7 | Ellen VAN LOY | BEL | 37 | 45:35:00 | 17 |
| 8 | Loes SELS | BEL | 32 | 45:42:00 | 15 |
| 9 | Yara KASTELIJN | NED | 20 | 46:13:00 | 12 |
| 10 | Annemarie WORST | NED | 22 | 46:13:00 | 10 |
| 11 | Ceylin DEL CARMEN ALVARADO | NED | 19 | 46:21:00 | 8 |
| 12 | Karen VERHESTRAETEN | BEL | 26 | 46:31:00 | 6 |
| 13 | Maud KAPTHEIJNS | NED | 23 | 46:40:00 | 4 |
| 14 | Geerte HOEKE | NED | 27 | 46:44:00 | 2 |
| 15 | Manon BAKKER | NED | 18 | 46:50:00 | 1 |
| 16 | Jolien VERSCHUEREN | BEL | 27 | 47:10:00 | |
| 17 | Inge VAN DER HEIJDEN | NED | 18 | 47:25:00 | |
| 18 | Lizzy WITLOX | NED | 22 | 47:30:00 | |
| 19 | Alicia FRANCK | BEL | 23 | 47:30:00 | |
| 20 | Lindy VAN ANROOIJ | NED | 21 | 47:40:00 | |
| 21 | Denise BETSEMA | NED | 24 | 48:14:00 | |
| 22 | Joyce VANDERBEKEN | BEL | 33 | 48:29:00 | |
| 23 | Bianca VAN DEN HOEK | NED | 41 | 48:33:00 | |
| 24 | Suzanne VERHOEVEN | NED | 21 | 48:37:00 | |
| 25 | Maaike DE HEIJ | NED | 19 | 48:58:00 | |
| 26 | Julia BOSCHKER | NED | 18 | 49:59:00 | |
| 27 | Esther VAN DER BURG | NED | 19 | ||
| 28 | Floor WEERINK | NED | 19 | ||
| 29 | Linda TER BEEK | NED | 30 | ||
| 30 | Evy KUIJPERS | NED | 22 | ||
| 31 | Anouk SPIES | NED | 18 | ||
| 32 | Rozemarijn AMMERLAAN | NED | 17 | ||
| 33 | Axelle BELLAERT | BEL | 20 | ||
| 34 | Kiki VAN ASSELT | NED | 19 | ||
| 35 | Laura KRANS | NED | 30 | ||
| 36 | Aurélie VERMEIR | BEL | 25 | ||
| 37 | Marianne DE VEGT | NED | 17 | ||
| 38 | Marieke VAN WITZENBURG | NED | 32 | ||
| 39 | Romy BERENDS | NED | 19 | ||
| 40 | Sophie ARENDS | NED | 17 | ||
| 41 | Yvet SCHOONEWILLE | NED | 17 |
2016 Superprestige #1 - Gieten Full Results - Elite Men
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Age* | Result | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathieu VAN DER POEL | NED | 22 | 58:35:00 | 80 |
| 2 | Wout VAN AERT | BEL | 23 | 58:43:00 | 60 |
| 3 | Laurens SWEECK | BEL | 24 | 58:48:00 | 40 |
| 4 | Jens ADAMS | BEL | 25 | 58:51:00 | 30 |
| 5 | Toon AERTS | BEL | 24 | 58:57:00 | 25 |
| 6 | Klaas VANTORNOUT | BEL | 35 | 59:00:00 | 20 |
| 7 | Tom MEEUSEN | BEL | 29 | 59:14:00 | 17 |
| 8 | Tim MERLIER | BEL | 25 | 59:17:00 | 15 |
| 9 | David VAN DER POEL | NED | 25 | 59:18:00 | 12 |
| 10 | Lars VAN DER HAAR | NED | 26 | 59:33:00 | 10 |
| 11 | Kevin PAUWELS | BEL | 33 | 59:43:00 | 8 |
| 12 | Vincent BAESTAENS | BEL | 28 | 59:50:00 | 6 |
| 13 | Michael BOROS | CZE | 25 | 1:00:01 | 4 |
| 14 | Diether SWEECK | BEL | 24 | 1:00:17 | 2 |
| 15 | Corne VAN KESSEL | NED | 26 | 1:00:44 | 1 |
| 16 | Gianni VERMEERSCH | BEL | 25 | 1:00:48 | |
| 17 | Twan VAN DEN BRAND | NED | 28 | 1:00:49 | |
| 18 | Julien TARAMARCAZ | SUI | 30 | 1:00:50 | |
| 19 | Daan HOEYBERGHS | BEL | 23 | 1:01:03 | |
| 20 | Patrick VAN LEEUWEN | NED | 32 | 1:01:05 | |
| 21 | Joeri ADAMS | BEL | 28 | 1:01:10 | |
| 22 | Stan GODRIE | NED | 24 | 1:01:22 | |
| 23 | Gert-Jan BOSMAN | NED | 25 | 1:02:33 | |
| 24 | Niels WUBBEN | NED | 29 | 1:03:19 | |
| 25 | Jens VANDEKINDEREN | BEL | 24 | 1:03:24 | |
| 26 | Kenneth VAN COMPERNOLLE | BEL | 29 | ||
| 27 | Thijs AL | NED | 37 | ||
| 28 | Michiel VAN DER HEIJDEN | NED | 25 | ||
| 29 | Quincy VENS | BEL | 31 | ||
| 30 | Kevin CANT | BEL | 29 | ||
| 31 | Yu TAKENOUCHI | JPN | 29 | ||
| 32 | Bart BARKHUIS | NED | 27 | ||
| DNF | Philipp WALSLEBEN | GER | 30 | ||
| DNF | Rob PEETERS | BEL | 32 | ||
| DNF | Thijs VAN AMERONGEN | NED | 31 |
