OSTEND, Belgium—Dutch cyclocross and sand go hand in hand, even when in Belgium.
U23 Men, 2021 Cyclocross World Championships, Ostend, Belgium. © Alain Vandepontseele / Cyclocross Magazine
The Dutch U23 men went 1-2 on the sandy, slippery course on the beach in Ostend.
Two Powerhouses Pack the Beach
Early on, the Dutch set a hard pace leading the top three positions after the first turn.
Start van het WK voor beloften. De Nederlanders gaan er meteen keihard tegenaan! pic.twitter.com/zXgmIXF62O
— Sporza 🚴 (@sporza_koers) January 30, 2021
A large group of mostly Dutch and Belgian riders early on saw attacks with no real separation.
The sand made for a long string of riders behind the leading pack.
U23 Men, 2021 Cyclocross World Championships, Ostend, Belgium. © Alain Vandepontseele / Cyclocross Magazine
Prachtig beeld: een ouderwetse België-Nederland op het strand van Oostende 🍿 #WKoostende pic.twitter.com/gV9ndtI2mn
— Sporza 🚴 (@sporza_koers) January 30, 2021
Going into the second lap the group was still together, in the grass Timo Kielich (BEL) broke free temporarily, and managed to stay upright with an impressive drift on and off-camber.
The group came back and Pim Ronhaar (NED) pushed the pace with Kielich.
The pair hit the sand first and opened the first real gap of the race at 18 minutes.
Ronhaar Rests on the Grass, Full Gas on the Sand
Ronhaar kept the pressure on, and without an attack, opened up a gap to Kielich was 4 seconds going into Lap 4, with the gap back to the chase of Kielich, Toon Vandebosch, and defending champ Ryan Kamp was 12 seconds.
The Dutch leader rode conservatively through the slippery grass, but attacked the sand to sustain and stretch his gap.
On Lap Five, Kamp slid on the stairs on lap four, falling off the chase group, which was seven seconds off the leader.
In Lap Six, Kamp came back to the chase and pushed the pace going into the large flyover, attacking in the sand for the final time, bringing Kielich with him.
Setting a hard pace, Kamp pushed the Belgian to the grass, where he attacked again and broke free.
Coming off the flyover, Kielich slid in the mud and fell further off Kamp’s pace, who dug deep to close the gap to six seconds.
Back at the front Ronhaar flew across the line, literally flapping his arms like wings to capture the first rainbow jersey of the weekend.
Pim Ronhaar wins the U23 Men, 2021 Cyclocross World Championships, Ostend, Belgium. © Alain Vandepontseele / Cyclocross Magazine
Kamp finished eight seconds back in second, with Kielich recovering from his crash to take third.
Pim Ronhaar wins the U23 Men, with Ryan Kamp in second and Timo Kielich in third. 2021 Cyclocross World Championships, Ostend, Belgium. © Alain Vandepontseele / Cyclocross Magazine
Rider Reactions
“This is an amazing feeling,” Ronhaar said after the finish. “In the beginning, it was a bit hectic. We were with 6, 7 riders in the first two laps. I felt really strong, every time on the bridge through the sand, I was in place one or place two. Then after two laps, I didn’t even attack, I just rode my own tempo and I got 5, 6 seconds. In the grass section, I was just riding easy, so I had enough power in the sand, and that paid off.”
Pim Ronhaar wins the U23 Men, 2021 Cyclocross World Championships, Ostend, Belgium. © Alain Vandepontseele / Cyclocross Magazine
Ronhaar explained the unique course. “It’s so weird with the water coming so high, some places are super soft, some are hard, it’s like a muddy section, full on the power, then running to the next part of the sand.”
Follow all our 2021 UCI Cyclocross World Championships coverage from Ostend, Belgium here.
2021 UCI Cyclocross World Championships Saturday Results: U23 Men
| Rank | BIB | Last Name | First Name | Country | Age | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | RONHAAR | Pim | NED | 20 | 0:49:47 |
| 2 | 1 | KAMP | Ryan | NED | 21 | 0:49:55 |
| 3 | 12 | KIELICH | Timo | BEL | 22 | 0:50:01 |
| 4 | 15 | VERSTRYNGE | Emiel | BEL | 19 | 0:50:06 |
| 5 | 10 | VANDEBOSCH | Toon | BEL | 22 | 0:50:18 |
| 6 | 3 | HENDRIKX | Mees | NED | 21 | 0:50:20 |
| 7 | 13 | FERDINANDE | Anton | BEL | 21 | 0:50:42 |
| 8 | 11 | VANDEPUTTE | Niels | BEL | 21 | 0:50:48 |
| 9 | 24 | TURNER | Ben | GBR | 22 | 0:51:07 |
| 10 | 4 | VAN DIJKE | Tim | NED | 21 | 0:51:08 |
| 11 | 42 | FONTANA | Filippo | ITA | 21 | 0:51:37 |
| 12 | 14 | WYSEURE | Joran | BEL | 20 | 0:51:42 |
| 13 | 23 | MEIN | Thomas | GBR | 22 | 0:51:45 |
| 14 | 20 | ROUILLER | Loris | SUI | 21 | 0:51:46 |
| 15 | 19 | LILLO | Dario | SUI | 19 | 0:52:03 |
| 16 | 35 | JOT | Hugo | FRA | 20 | 0:52:11 |
| 17 | 5 | AGTERBERG | Kyle | NED | 22 | 0:52:36 |
| 18 | 36 | THOMAS | Théo | FRA | 20 | 0:52:41 |
| 19 | 30 | DELBOVE | Joris | FRA | 21 | 0:52:46 |
| 20 | 6 | VERBURG | Luke | NED | 20 | 0:52:52 |
| 21 | 26 | BARNES | Toby | GBR | 21 | 0:53:08 |
| 22 | 31 | MAINGUENAUD | Tom | FRA | 21 | 0:53:08 |
| 23 | 41 | CULLELL ESTAPE | Jofre | ESP | 22 | 0:53:36 |
| 24 | 22 | SOMMER | Lars | SUI | 19 | 0:53:45 |
| 25 | 34 | LELANDAIS | Rémi | FRA | 19 | 0:53:56 |
| 26 | 21 | STEHLI | Felix | SUI | 21 | 0:54:10 |
| 27 | 28 | MCGUIRE | Rory | GBR | 19 | 0:54:29 |
| 28 | 32 | ANANIE | Ugo | FRA | 19 | 0:54:43 |
| 29 | 47 | HULA | Robert | CZE | 21 | 0:54:51 |
| 30 | 29 | BARNES | Daniel | GBR | 19 | 0:55:02 |
| 31 | 48 | SØLVHØJ | Oliver | DEN | 19 | 0:55:05 |
| 32 | 27 | STOCKWELL | Oliver | GBR | 19 | 0:55:19 |
| 33 | 50 | DAHL | Gustav | DEN | 21 | 0:55:31 |
| 34 | 37 | HUBY | Antoine | FRA | 20 | 0:56:03 |
| 35 | 57 | BETTENDORFF | Loïc | LUX | 20 | 0:56:08 |
| 36 | 58 | PRIES | Cédric | LUX | 21 | 0:56:11 |
| 37 | 45 | ŘÍMAN | Jakub | CZE | 21 | 0:56:23 |
| 38 | 51 | BAK | Simon | DEN | 21 | 0:56:24 |
| 39 | 44 | PAVAN | Marco | ITA | 21 | 0:57:18 |
| 40 | 49 | MILLENNIUM | Ian | DEN | 20 | 0:58:00 |
| 41 | 43 | LEONE | Samuele | ITA | 20 | |
| 42 | 55 | MUSIALIK | Jakub | POL | 19 | |
| 43 | 54 | DOMIN | Krzysztof | POL | 21 | |
| 46 | VANÍČEK | Šimon | CZE | 22 | DNF | |
| 40 | FEIJOO ALBERTE | Ivan | ESP | 22 | DNF |
