The world's best cyclocrossers stormed the famed Citadel of Namur at the annual pre-Christmas World Cup on Sunday. Rain made the course muddy, adding an additional degree of difficulty to the challenging climbs and descents.
In the Elite Women's race, Lucinda Brand (Team Sunweb) showed her continued growth as a cyclocross racer with an impressive win after going solo in Lap 3.
Lucinda Brand had a standout ride in winning her second World Cup of the season. 2018 World Cup Namur. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon - Circus) took care of unfinished business after not winning at Namur in 2017 with another dominant win spurred on by an impressive pass of Toon Aerts (Telenet Fidea Lions) exiting the rutted off camber.
Mathieu van der Poel gets set to pass Toon Aerts. 2018 World Cup Namur. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycle - Groove Subaru) and Alex Morton (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) headlined results for North Americans in the U23 and Junior Men fields.
A rather clean Gage Hecht gets set to race. 2018 World Cup Namur. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Photographer Bart Hazen submitted the gallery of images below from Sunday's races. Head back to the Citadel for a look at the iconic race.
Photo Gallery: 2018 World Cup Namur
Annemarie Worst and Denise Betsema chase early in the race. 2018 World Cup Namur. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
