Cant, shown here in Koksijde, takes yet another win at Flandriencross Hamme. © Bart Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Cant Keeps Winning, De Boer Holds Best Time in Overall BPost Series
Only a day after an epic battle against Katie Compton at the World Cup in Milton Keynes, Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) took up her bike for yet another ferocious forty minutes of a one-on-one battle, this time at the Flandriencross Hamme against Ellen van Loy (Telenet-Fidea).
Van Loy has been a brilliant starter throughout her career, and today was no exception as she fired forward right from the gates, not only taking the holeshot, but also creating a notable gap between her and the rest of the field a lap in the race. Early on, Cant seemed more content to sit in with the chasing group, looking as if her fight in the World Cup finally took its toll.
Sophie de Boer (Kalas-NNOF Cycling Team) and Helen Wyman (Kona) led the chase until Cant turned on the afterburners and took off after Van Loy. Once at the lead, the two Belgian riders pulled away, with Van Loy looking as if she wanted to test Cant as much as possible up front, knowing the young rider wasn’t completely fresh for the race.
Not only did Cant hold on against the brutal assaults, but was able to put in a hard effort of her own as the race neared its conclusion, and finished first alone. Van Loy came in second, with Wyman rounding off the podium in third.
De Boer crashed late in the race, causing her to lose contention from the podium, although her fifth place finish was good enough to retain the overall BPost series lead, which is measured by time rather than points for finishing spots.
Americans Kaitlin Antonneau (Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld) was able to finish in the top ten at eighth, while Elle Anderson (Kalas-NNOF Cycling Team), who didn’t participate in Milton Keynes, was tenth. Meredith Miller (Noosa) rode for 13th, while Christine Vardaros took 20th out of a field of 36 riders.
Wout van Aert Takes Win Over Deep Field
Wout van Aert continues to win in the elite fields. © Bart Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Wout van Aert (Vastgoedservice p/b Golden Palace) battled Lars van der Harr (Giant Shimano) for the holeshot in the Men’s Elite Race, and was able to dictate the pace within the first few turns of the race. Sven Nys (Crelan-AA Drink), who suffered a bad chain drop yesterday in Milton Keynes, quickly settled in his customary sixth to eighth place position in the ranks.
Unlike the Women’s Elite Race, no one seemed to be able to break away for long in the hour race, causing a long, serpentine line of riders to make their way through the tight course. The first attack that looked like it might hold came late in the race from Jens Adams, gaping teammate Van Aert with Van der Haar behind in third.
Those chasers, along with German Champion Philipp Walsleben (BKCP) and 18-year-old rider Mathieu van der Poel (BCKP), reeled Adams back in. Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games), winner of the World Cup at Milton Keynes, also attempted to stay near the front, and help on well even as the pace quickened.
In the last third of the race, Van der Haar bobbled his bike in one of the punchy climbs, holding Nys up right behind. The Dutch rider was able to accelerate back to the lead, but the move appeared to hold up Nys in the race.
Lars van der Haar bobbles on a short climb, with Sven Nys caught behind. Photo grabbed from Sporza/UCI
The field remained close, with Van der Poel leading the group at the last half lap. Both he and Van Aert stuck with each other at the front, with Van Aert not making his move until the pavement, where the Belgian rider showed his strength in the sprint.
Walsleben, looking strong all weekend, rode in just ahead of Nys for third. Pauwels edged Van der Haar for fifth.
Stay tuned for full results.
