OVERIJSE, Belgium —The C1 Vlaamse Druivencross race is called the “mother of all races,” despite being a standalone race that’s not part of the World Cup, Superprestige or Bpost Bank Trofee series. With a pile of UCI points on the line, many of the top racers lined up on Sunday despite tired legs from Saturday’s Essen’s Bpost Bank race.
Van der Poel Escapes the Rainbow Curse
Mathieu van der Poel (BKCP-Corendon), fresh off a frustrating mechanical at Essen that cost him the Bpost Bank Trofee cyclocross race win, lined up in Overijse, Belgium, without Wout van Aert and Sven Nys, and seized the opportunity to take his revenge on the rest of the field to race to a dominant win on the cobbles of Druivencross.
While van Aert stayed home, Nys skipped the C1 Druivencross race due to a start money dispute with the promoters. But even without the 39-year-old legend, and his rival van Aert, Dutch star van der Poel did not have an easy ride. He first missed a pedal at the start and got swarmed, and then later suffered a chain problem, but neither mishap would keep the young World Champion from seeing the front of the race. See van der Poel sacrifice his front-line start in the short video below:
De elite zijn vertrokken! pic.twitter.com/fXUTIjqhWx
— Druivencross (@Druivencross) December 6, 2015
Belgians Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) and Tom Meeusen (Telnet-Fidea) would appease the Belgian fans, leading seven Belgians in their attempt to dethrone the Dutch World Champ. But van der Poel was on a mission, rejoined the leaders, and would escape to find clean lines and late laps for a twenty-second gap.
Van der Poel would cross the line with time to spare, pointing to his surgically-repaired knee, just as Johan Museeuw did in 2000 when he crossed the line to win Paris-Roubaix:
Winnaar: @mathieuvdpoel ! pic.twitter.com/rEskJ4sqKq
— Druivencross (@Druivencross) December 6, 2015
Worth all the suffering. #druivencross @johanmuseeuw pic.twitter.com/Wr2DEZatWb
— Mathieuvanderpoel (@mathieuvdpoel) December 6, 2015
Pauwels would follow in second, with Meeusen in third. Full 2015 Druivencross men’s results at the bottom.
Podium @Druivencross mannen: 1. @mathieuvdpoel 2. @ktpauwels 3. @TomMeeusen #druivencross #Overijse pic.twitter.com/A3eYMPv7FT
— Sportifun (@Sportifun) December 6, 2015
Jolien Verschueren Escapes the Brits, Delights Belgian Fans
In the women’s race, it was a Telenet-Fidea show, with Verschueren, Nikki Harris and Ellen van Loy doing their best to control the attempts by Helen Wyman (Kona) and Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) to steal the victory.
Ook de vrouwen zijn weg! pic.twitter.com/LgDSDQ5sK8
— Druivencross (@Druivencross) December 6, 2015
The group splintered, and Verschueren proved to be the strongest on the day, escaping Wyman and Harris to take the victory.
.@CXHelen, followed by Verschueren & @Sannecant #druivencross pic.twitter.com/RSGv2exSak
— Sarah Connolly (@_pigeons_) December 6, 2015
Winst in de @Druivencross voor Jolien Verschueren. @CXHelen werd tweede en @Nikkiharris86 derde. #Druivencross pic.twitter.com/WOnjCXaFg4
— Sportifun (@Sportifun) December 6, 2015
The podium ceremony was one of the more unique ones on the circuit:
Het podium: 1) Jolien Verschueren 2) @CXHelen en 3) @Nikkiharris86 pic.twitter.com/MbGM22weh3
— Druivencross (@Druivencross) December 6, 2015
2015 Vlaamse Druivencross Cyclocross Results - Elite Men
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Age* | Result | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathieu VAN DER POEL | NED | 20 | 1:03:01 | 80 |
| 2 | Kevin PAUWELS | BEL | 31 | 1:03:20 | 60 |
| 3 | Tom MEEUSEN | BEL | 27 | 1:03:36 | 40 |
| 4 | Tim MERLIER | BEL | 23 | 1:03:45 | 30 |
| 5 | Klaas VANTORNOUT | BEL | 33 | 1:03:49 | 25 |
| 6 | Gianni VERMEERSCH | BEL | 23 | 1:04:16 | 20 |
| 7 | Michael VANTHOURENHOUT | BEL | 22 | 1:04:43 | 17 |
| 8 | Corne VAN KESSEL | NED | 24 | 1:04:52 | 15 |
| 9 | Marcel MEISEN | GER | 26 | 1:05:01 | 12 |
| 10 | Toon AERTS | BEL | 22 | 1:05:09 | 10 |
| 11 | Jim AERNOUTS | BEL | 26 | 1:05:11 | 8 |
| 12 | Jens VANDEKINDEREN | BEL | 22 | 1:05:32 | 6 |
| 13 | Dieter VANTHOURENHOUT | BEL | 30 | 1:05:41 | 4 |
| 14 | Michael BOROS | CZE | 23 | 1:05:50 | 2 |
| 15 | Vincent BAESTAENS | BEL | 26 | 1:06:18 | 1 |
| 16 | Niels WUBBEN | NED | 27 | 1:06:40 | |
| 17 | Jan DENUWELAERE | BEL | 27 | 1:06:49 | |
| 18 | David VAN DER POEL | NED | 23 | 1:07:32 | |
| 19 | Patrick VAN LEEUWEN | NED | 30 | 1:08:15 | |
| 20 | Bart HOFMAN | BEL | 30 | 1:08:15 | |
| 21 | Kenneth VAN COMPERNOLLE | BEL | 27 | ||
| 22 | Michiel VAN DER HEIJDEN | NED | 23 | ||
| 23 | Michael VAN DEN HAM | CAN | 23 | ||
| 24 | Vinnie BRAET | BEL | 24 | ||
| 25 | Dave DE CLEYN | BEL | 27 | ||
| 26 | Garry MILLBURN | AUS | 28 | ||
| 27 | Mark MCCONNELL | CAN | 27 | ||
| 28 | Kristaps KIPURS | LAT | 32 |
2015 Vlaamse Druivencross Cyclocross Results - Elite Women
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Age* | Result | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jolien VERSCHUEREN | BEL | 25 | 41:07:00 | 80 |
| 2 | Helen WYMAN | GBR | 34 | 41:21:00 | 60 |
| 3 | Nikki HARRIS | GBR | 29 | 41:36:00 | 40 |
| 4 | Sanne CANT | BEL | 25 | 41:45:00 | 30 |
| 5 | Ellen VAN LOY | BEL | 35 | 42:06:00 | 25 |
| 6 | Sophie DE BOER | NED | 25 | 42:30:00 | 20 |
| 7 | Christine MAJERUS | LUX | 28 | 42:50:00 | 17 |
| 8 | Karen VERHESTRAETEN | BEL | 24 | 43:32:00 | 15 |
| 9 | Joyce VANDERBEKEN | BEL | 31 | 43:54:00 | 12 |
| 10 | Nikola NOSKOVA | CZE | 18 | 44:05:00 | 10 |
| 11 | Alice Maria ARZUFFI | ITA | 21 | 44:18:00 | 8 |
| 12 | Ffion JAMES | GBR | 18 | 44:27:00 | 6 |
| 13 | Bianca VAN DEN HOEK | NED | 39 | 44:49:00 | 4 |
| 14 | Julia BOSCHKER | NED | 16 | 46:18:00 | 2 |
| 15 | Linda TER BEEK | NED | 28 | 46:18:00 | 1 |
| 16 | Pauline DELHAYE | FRA | 26 | 47:10:00 | |
| 17 | Senna FERON | NED | 20 | 47:35:00 | |
| 18 | Eva Maria PALM | BEL | 18 | 47:58:00 | |
| 19 | Christine VARDAROS | USA | 46 | 49:43:00 | |
| 20 | Mara SCHWAGER | GER | 33 | ||
| 21 | Yenthe BOONS | BEL | 18 |
