The sand dunes of Koksijde, located in the northwest corner of Belgium along the North Sea, form one of the most challenging cyclocross venues in the world.
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Fans gather around one of the famed Koksijde dunes. 2017 World Cup Koksijde. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]
Telenet UCI World Cup racing resumed on Sunday at Koksijde with the third stop of the nine-race 2017/18 series. Although the race was set in Belgium, the day belonged to the Dutch.
Maud Kaptheijns (Crelan-Charles) continued her magical season with another convincing win in the Women’s race by riding hard early and escaping the field.
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Maud Kaptheijns (Crelan-Charles) captured her first World Cup win at Koksijde. 2017 World Cup Koksijde. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]
Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon) was not slowed by the effects of his crash on Saturday en route to a dominant performance in Koksijde on Sunday.
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Fans look on as Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon) rides to a solo victory. 2017 World Cup Koksijde. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]
In his race report from Sunday, contributor Ted Burns noted how the two Van der Poels mastered lines through the sand to capture first and fifth. Photographer Bart Hazen caught this sequence of photos that demonstrates their mastery.
Van der Poel rode the sand section.
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Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank Corendon) rode sections of sand others had to run. 2017 World Cup Koksijde. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]
While rival Wout van Aert (Crelan-Charles) had to dismount and run.
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Wout van Aert (Crelan-Charles) runs the sand in his rival’s wake. 2017 World Cup Koksijde. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]
As did eventual second-place finisher Lars van der Haar (Telenet Fidea Lions).
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Lars van der Haar (Telenet Fidea Lions) also went off the bike in this section. 2017 World Cup Koksijde. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]
David van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon), who finished fifth, rode the sand, as did Laurens Sweeck (ERA-Circus), who took fourth.
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David van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon), like his brother, was feeling strong in the sand. 2017 World Cup Koksijde. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine[/caption]
Check out more photos from the Women’s and Men’s races in this gallery from photographer Bart Hazen.
Bart Hazen Photo Gallery – 2017 World Cup Koksijde
Laurens Sweeck (ERA-Circus) rode to fourth at the 2017 World Cup Koksijde. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
