VALKENBURG AAN DE GEUL, The Netherlands—In a cyclocross season that’s shaping up to be one for the ages due to the intrigue and drama of each race, the 2016 Valkenburg Work Cup and the Cauberg hill stayed true to the script.
Valkenburg marked the first World Cup of the season on European soil, and the first World Cup meeting between Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon) and Wout van Aert (Crelan Vaastgoedservice), as van der Poel skipped both CrossVegas and Jingle Cross as he recovered from knee surgery.
On a course that was remarkably different than the ankle-swallowing mudfest seen earlier in the week at the Kermiscross in Belgium, the World Cup at the Cauberg proved to be just moist with little mud. Yet it was the slightly muddy, rutted off-cambers that proved to be determining factors in the race.
Valkenburg Men: A van Aert and van der Poel Duel with Passengers
In the men’s race, the much-anticipated two-man duel between van Aert and van der Poel took half a race to develop. While neither racer strayed far from the front of the race, Tom Meeusen (Telenet Fidea Lions), Michael Vanthourenhout (Marlux-Napoleon Games) and teammate Kevin Pauwels looked determined to make it a five-man race for the win.
There were several tough, steep run-ups on the day. 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Men. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
With just three laps to go, it still looked like a four-way battle for the win, with Pauwels trailing a bit behind the four leaders. Van Aert was content to push the pace, sprinting out of the corners and displaying impressive running prowess on the long, stair-laden run-up. Van der Poel was content to follow, while Vanthourenhout and Meeusen did their best to remain in contact.
Wout van Aert navigates one of the slippery, rutted off-camber descents, before one would take him down with less than two laps to go, 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Men. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
On the third to final lap, van der Poel hit the front, launching a vicious attack while pushing a huge gear up the climbs. Van Aert led the chase of his rival, and with two laps to go, the group was just four seconds behind, with 15 minutes of racing remaining.
Van der Poel on the attack. 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Men. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Fans had plenty of hope to witness yet another last-lap beautiful duel that the first two stops of the Superprestige series delivered, but the Cauberg hill had other plans. With a lap and a half remaining, on a slippery, muddy off-camber, van Aert hit the deck, taking down Meeusen with him. Suddenly, Vanthourenhout was by himself in second, and once again, van Aert was left with a derailed chain.
The moment of misfortune for van Aert that held up Meeusen.
With one lap to go, van der Poel had 18 seconds on Vanthourenhout and 28 seconds on the recovering van Aert and Meeusen duo, and it looked to only be a matter of who would finish in third.
However, van Aert, with one giant flight of stairs, shed Meeusen for good and closed the gap on Vanthourenhout. As the two remounted their bikes together, Vanthourenhout was already looking behind to see if his third place was secure.
Van der Poel is undefeated at World Cup and Superprestige races this season. 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Men. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
For the third straight time, on the sport’s biggest stage, van der Poel got the better of van Aert and showed no signs of the knee injury he suffered this spring while riding his BMX bike.
American Tobin Ortenblad (Santa Cruz) continued his European campaign, finishing 46th.
van Aert, van der Poel and Vanthourenhout. 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Men. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Valkenburg Women: De Jong Delights
2016 Cyclocross World Champ Thalita de Jong (Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team), primarily a road racer, has found her second sport of cyclocross just might suit her well enough to become her first.
On a technical, challenging Cauberg course, the Dutch racer hit the front group, applying pressure and quickly reducing the race to six leaders on the first lap, with Sophie de Boer (Kalas-NNOF), Sanne Cant (IKO Enertherm-Beobank), De Jong’s teammate Lucinda Brand, American Amanda Miller (Boulder Cycle Sport / Yogaglo) and Ellen Van Loy (Telenet Fidea Lions) all doing their best to hold De Jong’s wheel on the pavement and wide-open stretches, while de Boer and Cant pushed forward on the technical sections.
Sophe de Boer leads the 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Women. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Caroline Mani (Raleigh Clement) and the fresh-from-the-U.S. Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team) led the chase, with Pavla Havlikova (Kooperativa Ladies) and Kaitlin Antonneau (Cannondale-CycrocrossWorld) following.
De Boer proved to be best suited to challenge de Jong on the day, using her superior skills on the course’s off-cambers and technical sections to remain in contact or seize the lead. In similar fashion to van Aert’s crash later in the the day, Van Loy slid out on an off-camber, and just like that, one-by-one, racers fell off the pace of De Jong.
World Champ Thalita de Jong and Sophie de Boer used their strengths to take turns at the front of the 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Women. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
De Boer was the last to drop, but the final result seemed never to be in question, despite a stumble by de Jong entering a run-up.
The World Champion showed everyone that her win in Zolder was no fluke. De Jong could be yet another Rabo Liv racer to dominant cyclocross if she so chooses, and admitted that despite having some room for improvement, is enjoying her new off-road career.
De Jong wins the 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Women. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Miller’s fifth place was an impressive result, and the Iowa rider has been on a recent tear, finishing first and second in the two days of UCI C2 racing at the U.S. Open of Cyclocross in Boulder last weekend.
Amanda Miller finished fifth at the 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Women. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Six American women contested the Valkenburg World Cup. Antonneau finished 8th, Elle Anderson (SRAM / Velocio) in 13th, Rebecca Fahringer (Amy D Foundation) 15th, Ellen Noble (Aspire) in 37th, Christine Vardaros (Stevens) in 51st.
World Cup leader Katie Compton did not attend the race. De Boer took back the series leader’s jersey, while Noble retained her U23 leader’s jersey.
Podium Women: Thalita de Jong: Sophie de Boer: Sanne Cant – 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Women. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Ellen Noble retains her U23 leader’s jersey. 2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Elite Women. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Valkenburg U23, Juniors: Bertolini, Bekaert Sprint to Victory, Four Americans Contest
In the Junior Men’s race, Belgian Yentl Bekaert outsprinted French Antoine Benoist for the win. Three Americans competed, led by Lane Maher, who scored yet another top ten in his European campaign. Caleb Swartz finished 37th, with Ben Gomez Villafañe in 39th, just under three minutes back.
In the men’s U23 race, another tight finish kept fans in suspense. Italy’s Gioele Bertolini upset the Belgian and Dutch contingent, outsprinting Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Netherlands for the win. American Brannan Fix was scored at 45th.
Stay tuned for full photo galleries.
2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Results - Elite Women
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Age* | Result | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thalita DE JONG | NED | 24 | 41:59:00 | 200 |
| 2 | Sophie DE BOER | NED | 27 | 42:25:00 | 160 |
| 3 | Sanne CANT | BEL | 27 | 42:34:00 | 140 |
| 4 | Lucinda BRAND | NED | 28 | 42:45:00 | 120 |
| 5 | Amanda MILLER | USA | 31 | 42:59:00 | 110 |
| 6 | Ellen VAN LOY | BEL | 37 | 43:09:00 | 100 |
| 7 | Caroline MANI | FRA | 30 | 43:15:00 | 90 |
| 8 | Kaitlin ANTONNEAU | USA | 25 | 43:19:00 | 80 |
| 9 | Alice Maria ARZUFFI | ITA | 23 | 43:21:00 | 70 |
| 10 | Helen WYMAN | GBR | 36 | 43:30:00 | 60 |
| 11 | Maud KAPTHEIJNS | NED | 23 | 43:42:00 | 58 |
| 12 | Annemarie WORST | NED | 22 | 43:55:00 | 56 |
| 13 | Elle ANDERSON | USA | 29 | 44:00:00 | 54 |
| 14 | Pavla HAVLIKOVA | CZE | 34 | 44:20:00 | 52 |
| 15 | Rebecca FAHRINGER | USA | 28 | 44:30:00 | 50 |
| 16 | Marlene PETIT | FRA | 26 | 44:35:00 | 48 |
| 17 | Jana CZECZINKAROVA | CZE | 20 | 44:35:00 | 46 |
| 18 | Nicole KOLLER | SUI | 20 | 44:37:00 | 44 |
| 19 | Laura VERDONSCHOT | BEL | 21 | 44:41:00 | 42 |
| 20 | Alicia FRANCK | BEL | 23 | 45:08:00 | 40 |
| 21 | Christine MAJERUS | LUX | 30 | 45:11:00 | 39 |
| 22 | Ceylin DEL CARMEN ALVARADO | NED | 19 | 45:31:00 | 38 |
| 23 | Jolien VERSCHUEREN | BEL | 27 | 45:32:00 | 37 |
| 24 | Hélène CLAUZEL | FRA | 19 | 45:35:00 | 36 |
| 25 | Évita MUZIC | FRA | 18 | 45:52:00 | 35 |
| 26 | Maëlle GROSSETETE | FRA | 19 | 45:54:00 | 34 |
| 27 | Aida NUNO PALACIO | ESP | 34 | 45:57:00 | 33 |
| 28 | Inge VAN DER HEIJDEN | NED | 18 | 46:00:00 | 32 |
| 29 | Sara CASASOLA | ITA | 18 | 46:04:00 | 31 |
| 30 | Perrine CLAUZEL | FRA | 23 | 46:07:00 | 30 |
| 31 | Ffion JAMES | GBR | 20 | 46:09:00 | 29 |
| 32 | Anaïs MORICHON | FRA | 18 | 4:16 | 28 |
| 33 | Lucia GONZALEZ BLANCO | ESP | 27 | 46:19:00 | 27 |
| 34 | Nadja HEIGL | AUT | 21 | 46:22:00 | 26 |
| 35 | Bianca VAN DEN HOEK | NED | 41 | 46:24:00 | 25 |
| 36 | Karen VERHESTRAETEN | BEL | 26 | 46:36:00 | 24 |
| 37 | Ellen NOBLE | USA | 22 | 47:00:00 | 23 |
| 38 | Martina MIKULASKOVA | CZE | 24 | 47:01:00 | 22 |
| 39 | Alicia GONZALEZ BLANCO | ESP | 22 | 47:09:00 | 21 |
| 40 | Francesca BARONI | ITA | 18 | 47:16:00 | 20 |
| 41 | Joyce VANDERBEKEN | BEL | 33 | 47:27:00 | 19 |
| 42 | Amira MELLOR | GBR | 20 | 47:30:00 | 18 |
| 43 | Lara KRÄHEMANN | SUI | 18 | 47:40:00 | 17 |
| 44 | Asa Maria ERLANDSSON | SWE | 43 | 47:40:00 | 16 |
| 45 | Cyriane MULLER | FRA | 29 | 47:42:00 | 15 |
| 46 | Tereza MEDVEDOVA | SVK | 21 | 47:52:00 | 14 |
| 47 | Elena VALENTINI | ITA | 25 | 47:57:00 | 13 |
| 48 | Tina ZÜGER | SUI | 17 | 6:17 | 12 |
| 49 | Fabienne SCHAUS | LUX | 33 | 48:26:00 | 11 |
| 50 | Nikola BAJGEROVA | CZE | 20 | 49:32:00 | 10 |
| 51 | Christine VARDAROS | USA | 48 | 5 | |
| 52 | Mara SCHWAGER | GER | 35 | 5 | |
| 53 | Zaloa TREVILLA | ESP | 25 | 5 |
2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Results - Elite Men
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Age* | Result | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathieu VAN DER POEL | NED | 22 | 1:05:13 | 200 |
| 2 | Wout VAN AERT | BEL | 23 | 1:05:27 | 160 |
| 3 | Michael VANTHOURENHOUT | BEL | 24 | 1:05:34 | 140 |
| 4 | Tom MEEUSEN | BEL | 29 | 1:05:47 | 120 |
| 5 | Kevin PAUWELS | BEL | 33 | 1:06:02 | 110 |
| 6 | Toon AERTS | BEL | 24 | 1:06:09 | 100 |
| 7 | Lars VAN DER HAAR | NED | 26 | 1:06:20 | 90 |
| 8 | Corne VAN KESSEL | NED | 26 | 1:06:35 | 80 |
| 9 | Laurens SWEECK | BEL | 24 | 1:06:41 | 70 |
| 10 | Tim MERLIER | BEL | 25 | 1:06:46 | 60 |
| 11 | Jens ADAMS | BEL | 25 | 1:07:01 | 58 |
| 12 | Clément VENTURINI | FRA | 24 | 1:07:09 | 56 |
| 13 | Marcel MEISEN | GER | 28 | 1:07:20 | 54 |
| 14 | Stan GODRIE | NED | 24 | 1:07:28 | 52 |
| 15 | Philipp WALSLEBEN | GER | 30 | 1:07:41 | 50 |
| 16 | Simon ZAHNER | SUI | 34 | 1:07:43 | 48 |
| 17 | Michael BOROS | CZE | 25 | 1:07:49 | 46 |
| 18 | Gianni VERMEERSCH | BEL | 25 | 1:07:49 | 44 |
| 19 | Daan SOETE | BEL | 23 | 1:07:52 | 42 |
| 20 | Steve CHAINEL | FRA | 34 | 1:07:57 | 40 |
| 21 | Twan VAN DEN BRAND | NED | 28 | 1:07:58 | 39 |
| 22 | Severin SAEGESSER | SUI | 25 | 1:07:59 | 38 |
| 23 | Jan NESVADBA | CZE | 26 | 1:08:04 | 37 |
| 24 | Daan HOEYBERGHS | BEL | 23 | 1:08:10 | 36 |
| 25 | Martin HARING | SVK | 31 | 1:08:10 | 35 |
| 26 | David VAN DER POEL | NED | 25 | 1:08:16 | 34 |
| 27 | Thijs VAN AMERONGEN | NED | 31 | 1:08:24 | 33 |
| 28 | Dieter VANTHOURENHOUT | BEL | 32 | 1:08:33 | 32 |
| 29 | Marcel WILDHABER | SUI | 32 | 1:08:38 | 31 |
| 30 | Patrick VAN LEEUWEN | NED | 32 | 1:08:51 | 30 |
| 31 | Matthieu BOULO | FRA | 28 | 1:08:56 | 29 |
| 32 | Francis MOUREY | FRA | 37 | 1:09:09 | 28 |
| 33 | Jim AERNOUTS | BEL | 28 | 1:09:27 | 27 |
| 34 | Kevin SUAREZ FERNANDEZ | ESP | 23 | 1:09:43 | 26 |
| 35 | Tomas PAPRSTKA | CZE | 25 | 1:10:00 | 25 |
| 36 | Javier RUIZ DE LARRINAGA IBANEZ | ESP | 38 | 1:10:05 | 24 |
| 37 | Diether SWEECK | BEL | 24 | 1:10:15 | 23 |
| 38 | Lukas WINTERBERG | SUI | 29 | 1:10:24 | 22 |
| 39 | Alois FALENTA | FRA | 28 | 1:10:37 | 21 |
| 40 | Vincent BAESTAENS | BEL | 28 | 1:10:51 | 20 |
| 41 | Andreas MOSER | SUI | 33 | 1:10:54 | 19 |
| 42 | Nicolas SAMPARISI | ITA | 25 | 1:11:34 | 18 |
| 43 | Michal MALÍK | CZE | 28 | 1:12:04 | 17 |
| 44 | Anthonin DIDIER | FRA | 24 | 1:12:10 | 16 |
| 45 | Matej LASAK | CZE | 25 | 15 | |
| 46 | Tobin ORTENBLAD | USA | 23 | 14 | |
| 47 | Sascha WEBER | GER | 29 | 13 | |
| 48 | Lorenzo SAMPARISI | ITA | 24 | 12 | |
| 49 | Julien TARAMARCAZ | SUI | 30 | 11 | |
| 50 | Yu TAKENOUCHI | JPN | 29 | 10 | |
| 51 | Mariusz GIL | POL | 34 | 5 | |
| 52 | Christian HELMIG | LUX | 36 | 5 | |
| 53 | Yoann CORBIHAN | FRA | 29 | 5 | |
| 54 | Marvin SCHMIDT | GER | 25 | 5 | |
| 55 | Inigo GOMEZ ELORRIAGA | ESP | 26 | 5 | |
| 56 | Lex REICHLING | LUX | 25 | 5 |
2016 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup Results - U23 Men
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gioele Bertolini | ITA | 0:52:40 |
| 2 | Joris Nieuwenhuis | NED | 0:00:01 |
| 3 | Quinten Hermans | BEL | 0:00:27 |
| 4 | Adam Toupalik | CZE | 0:00:33 |
| 5 | Sieben Wouters | NED | 0:00:36 |
| 6 | Eli Iserbyt | BEL | 0:00:45 |
| 7 | Thomas Bonnet | FRA | 0:00:50 |
| 8 | Lucas Dubau | FRA | 0:01:07 |
| 9 | Joshua Dubau | FRA | 0:00:00 |
| 10 | Felipe Orts | SPA | 0:01:15 |
| 11 | Yannick Peeters | BEL | 0:01:24 |
| 12 | Jens Dekker | NED | 0:01:33 |
| 13 | Thijs Aerts | BEL | 0:01:34 |
| 14 | Clement Russo | FRA | 0:01:35 |
| 15 | Jelle Schuermans | BEL | 0:01:43 |
| 16 | Stefano Sala | ITA | 0:01:48 |
| 17 | Jakob Dorigoni | ITA | 0:01:58 |
| 18 | Maik Van Der Heijden | NED | 0:02:03 |
| 19 | Kobe Goossens | BEL | 0:02:18 |
| 20 | Kelvin Bakx | NED | 0:02:20 |
| 21 | Gosse Van Der Meer | NED | 0:02:24 |
| 22 | Eddy Fine | FRA | 0:02:41 |
| 23 | Timon Ruegg | SWI | 0:03:06 |
| 24 | Nadir Colledani | ITA | 0:03:17 |
| 25 | Manuel Muller | GER | 0:03:42 |
| 26 | Wesley Floren | NED | 0:03:45 |
| 27 | Richard Jansen | NED | 0:03:52 |
| 28 | Lukas Meiler | GER | 0:03:54 |
| 29 | Kevin Kuhn | SWI | 0:03:59 |
| 30 | Roel Van Der Stegen | NED | 0:04:06 |
| 31 | Stepan Schubert | CZE | 0:04:13 |
| 32 | Raphael Kraehemann | SWI | 0:04:20 |
| 33 | Perry Van Den Bos | NED | 0:04:37 |
| 34 | Koen Van Dijke | NED | 0:04:47 |
| 35 | Paul Lindenau | GER | 0:04:50 |
| 36 | Jonas Brezina | CZE | 0:04:53 |
| 37 | Antonio Folcarelli | ITA | 0:05:27 |
| 38 | Adrian Garcia | SPA | 0:05:35 |
| 39 | Daniel Mayer | CZE | 0:05:42 |
| 40 | Lois Dufaux | SWI | 0:05:46 |
| 41 | Maximilian Mobis | GER | 0:06:13 |
| 42 | Bjorn Van Der Heijden | NED | 0:07:00 |
| 43 | Frederik Hahnel | GER | 0:07:06 |
| 44 | Paul Rudolph | GER | 0:07:49 |
| 45 | Brannan Fix | USA | 0:00:00 |
