VALKENBURG, Netherlands – A fast start by the defending World Cup leader Wout Van Aert (Vastgoedservice-Golden Palace) wasn’t enough to keep Lars van der Haar (Giant-Alpecin) from taking control of the race in the second lap on the steep Cauberg run-up to claim the victory at Valkenburg.
Van der Haar rode exceptionally well, railing corners of the muddy off-camber descents to extend his lead to 40 seconds at its height, never once giving the competition a chance to recover. Chasers van Aert, Sven Nys (Crelan AA Drink Team) and Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) battled each other through the race but it was too much for Pauwels to maintain, loosing contact with the group in the seventh lap.
This pic says it all! Really happy with my win on the @caubergcyclo! Thanks to all fans, it helped! (©photopress) pic.twitter.com/26r2bESzGb
— Lars van der Haar (@larsvanderhaar) October 18, 2015
Nys and van Aert took turns attempting to erase the time gap but van der Haar rode consistently, holding firm with a 38 second advantage until the very end as the two remaining chasers battled each other for second place.
With that second podium spot on the line, Nys began to play a game of cat and mouse with the younger Belgian rider. In the final lap it seemed inevitable that the veteran would attack from behind, catching van Aert off guard, but a bobble on an off-camber turn gave van Aert the opportunity he needed.
Sensing Nys’ mistake, van Aert threw down everything he had, opening up the decisive gap to hold off Nys and claim second, 24 seconds down on van der Haar. Nys crossed the line ten seconds later with Pauwels and Switzerland’s Julien Taramarcaz (ERA Rea Estate-Murprotec) finishing off the top five.
American Jeremy Powers finished 41st after a fast start with fellow US rider Brian Matter taking 54th. Britain’s Ian Field crossed the line in 27th place and fellow countryman Ben Sumner finished 57th.
See our full 2015 Valkenburg Cyclocross World Cup photo gallery here.
Not a great day for me here in Valkenburg. I don't have any excuses, just a rough day on the bike. Another chance on Tuesday in Woerden!
— Jeremy Powers (@JeremyPowers) October 18, 2015
2015 Valkenburg World Cup Cyclocross Race Elite Men's Results
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Age* | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lars VAN DER HAAR | NED | 24 | 1:05:58 |
| 2 | Wout VAN AERT | BEL | 21 | 1:06:22 |
| 3 | Sven NYS | BEL | 39 | 1:06:32 |
| 4 | Kevin PAUWELS | BEL | 31 | 1:06:57 |
| 5 | Julien TARAMARCAZ | SUI | 28 | 1:07:38 |
| 6 | Michael VANTHOURENHOUT | BEL | 22 | 1:07:57 |
| 7 | Corne VAN KESSEL | NED | 24 | 1:08:03 |
| 8 | Clment VENTURINI | FRA | 22 | 1:08:04 |
| 9 | Diether SWEECK | BEL | 22 | 1:08:11 |
| 10 | Laurens SWEECK | BEL | 22 | 1:08:16 |
| 11 | Marcel MEISEN | GER | 26 | 1:08:23 |
| 12 | Tim MERLIER | BEL | 23 | 1:08:29 |
| 13 | Francis MOUREY | FRA | 35 | 1:08:47 |
| 14 | Thijs VAN AMERONGEN | NED | 29 | 1:08:54 |
| 15 | Tom MEEUSEN | BEL | 27 | 1:09:16 |
| 16 | Rob PEETERS | BEL | 30 | 1:09:19 |
| 17 | Toon AERTS | BEL | 22 | 1:09:22 |
| 18 | Jens ADAMS | BEL | 23 | 1:09:26 |
| 19 | Sascha WEBER | GER | 27 | 1:09:31 |
| 20 | Stan GODRIE | NED | 22 | 1:09:39 |
| 21 | Niels WUBBEN | NED | 27 | 1:09:48 |
| 22 | Fabien DOUBEY | FRA | 22 | 1:09:53 |
| 23 | Vincent BAESTAENS | BEL | 26 | 1:10:03 |
| 24 | Michael BOROS | CZE | 23 | 1:10:08 |
| 25 | Gianni VERMEERSCH | BEL | 23 | 1:10:19 |
| 26 | Marcel WILDHABER | SUI | 30 | 1:10:30 |
| 27 | Ian FIELD | GBR | 29 | 1:10:41 |
| 28 | David VAN DER POEL | NED | 23 | 1:11:01 |
| 29 | Jim AERNOUTS | BEL | 26 | 1:11:03 |
| 30 | Martin HARING | SVK | 29 | 1:11:14 |
| 31 | Simon ZAHNER | SUI | 32 | 1:11:19 |
| 32 | Gert-Jan BOSMAN | NED | 23 | 1:11:37 |
| 33 | Javier RUIZ DE LARRINAGA IBANEZ | ESP | 36 | 1:11:46 |
| 34 | Philipp WALSLEBEN | GER | 28 | 1:11:49 |
| 35 | Severin SAEGESSER | SUI | 23 | 1:12:05 |
| 36 | Nicolas SAMPARISI | ITA | 23 | |
| 37 | Andreas MOSER | SUI | 31 | |
| 38 | Vojtech NIPL | CZE | 22 | |
| 39 | Lukas WINTERBERG | SUI | 27 | |
| 40 | Josep BETALU | ESP | 38 | |
| 41 | Jeremy POWERS | USA | 32 | |
| 42 | Lubomir PETRUS | CZE | 25 | |
| 43 | Ondrej BAMBULA | CZE | 28 | |
| 44 | Marco BIANCO | ITA | 33 | |
| 45 | Lorenzo SAMPARISI | ITA | 22 | |
| 46 | Yu TAKENOUCHI | JPN | 27 | |
| 47 | Patrick VAN LEEUWEN | NED | 30 | |
| 48 | Mariusz GIL | POL | 32 | |
| 49 | Michael WILDHABER | SUI | 25 | |
| 50 | Alois FALENTA | FRA | 26 | |
| 51 | Kenneth HANSEN | DEN | 24 | |
| 52 | Jakub SKALA | CZE | 22 | |
| 53 | Vladimir KYZIVAT | CZE | 33 | |
| 54 | Brian MATTER | USA | 37 | |
| 55 | Yannick MAYER | GER | 24 | |
| 56 | Michal MALêK | CZE | 26 | |
| 57 | Ben SUMNER | GBR | 22 | |
| 58 | Joachim PARBO | DEN | 41 | |
| 59 | Gusty BAUSCH | LUX | 35 | |
| 60 | Martin ERIKSSON | SWE | 23 | |
| 61 | Vincent DIAS DOS SANTOS | LUX | 25 | |
| 62 | Roland SIEGBERT | GER | 33 | |
| 63 | Oriol DOMENECH | ESP | 24 | |
| 64 | Patrick LECHNER | GER | 27 | |
| DNF | Steve CHAINEL | FRA | 32 | |
| DNF | Radomir SIMUNEK | CZE | 32 | |
| DNS | Klaas VANTORNOUT | BEL | 33 |
