The Elite Men hit the infamous Koppenberg climb under muddy conditions, but the skies opened up to make the challenging race even more treacherous.
The hilly, cobbled racecourse favors climbers, and the women’s results had the best climbers rising to the top.
Eli Iserbyt powered his way up the major cobbled climb and slid down the hill, breaking away from Toon Aerts to take the lead.
As Aerts made his way down the hill to catch up with Iserbyt, he slipped on the mud at the sharp turn, dooming his chances for victory.
Lars Van der Haar had good legs despite some spills, and climbed his way into third.
Many racers collapsed at the end, as every second mattered. The race is the opening stage of the X2O Badkamers Trofee series that counts cumulative time over each stop.
See the full results below, and watch the Elite Men’s highlights of the 2021 Koppenbergcross.
X2O Trofee Oudenaarde - Koppenbergcross 2021 Results: Elite Men
| # | Rider | Age* | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ISERBYT Eli | 24 | Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal | 1:02:42 |
| 2 | AERTS Toon | 28 | Baloise Trek Lions | 0:24 |
| 3 | VAN DER HAAR Lars | 30 | Baloise Trek Lions | 1:18 |
| 4 | VAN KESSEL Corné | 30 | Tormans - Circus Cyclo Cross Team | 2:41 |
| 5 | VANDEBOSCH Toon | 22 | Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal | 2:47 |
| 6 | MEEUSEN Tom | 33 | CX Team Deschacht - Group Hens - Maes Containers | 2:59 |
| 7 | LOOCKX Lander | 24 | CX Team Deschacht - Group Hens - Maes Containers | 3:04 |
| 8 | VANTHOURENHOUT Michael | 28 | Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal | 3:15 |
| 9 | ADAMS Jens | 29 | 3:36 | |
| 10 | AERTS Thijs | 25 | Baloise Trek Lions | 3:59 |
| 11 | BEKAERT Yentl | 22 | Baloise Trek Lions | 4:06 |
| 12 | SWEECK Diether | 28 | IKO - Crelan | 6:34 |
| 13 | BOROS Michael | 29 | 7:15 | |
| 14 | MEIN Thomas | 22 | Tormans - Circus Cyclo Cross Team | 7:43 |
| 15 | MARASCO Lorenzo | 23 | Sebmotobikes CX Team | 8:06 |
| 16 | ROMBOUTS Seppe | 23 | 8:42 | |
| 17 | ALDERWEIRELD Robin | 25 | 9:08 | |
| 18 | LÜTHI Eric | 22 | ||
| 19 | OLDHAM Paul | 44 | ||
| 20 | KOCKELMANN Raphaël | 22 | ||
| 21 | VAN DIJKE Koen | 25 | ||
| 22 | O'REGAN Timothy | 34 | ||
| 23 | RUTS Andy | 23 | ||
| 24 | KRAWCZYK Benjamin | 28 | ||
| 25 | HEYMES Gauthier | 26 | ||
| 26 | CHASTAGNER Francois | 26 | ||
| DNF | SWEECK Laurens | 28 | Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal |
Check out 2021 Koppenbergcross Elite Women’s results and watch the highlights here.
If you have missed it, check out the 2021 Overijse Cyclocross World Cup Elite Men’s race highlights and results from Sunday.
