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Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) outdueled Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) to win the Druivencross in the Overijse round of the World Cup on Sunday.
It was a battle between the European Champion versus the World Champion for the final three laps of the muddy course, with Vanthourenhout earning his first World Cup victory of the season.
It was an aggressive ride for Pidcock, who took risks and had to work his way from 43rd position after an early mechanical at the start of the race.
However, having put himself in a winning position, he crashed on the penultimate lap and handed the advantage back to Vanthourenhout, who made no mistake and held off his rival to win by three seconds.
Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) rode to a solo third place, taking his fifth podium in five World Cup events.
“Yeah, I think even better than the European Championships. I think it was a good battle. It was very difficult,” Vanthourenhout said.
Round six of the World Cup series provided a slippery course as light rain continued to fall when the green flag dropped for the elite men. Van der Haar attacked straightaway on the holeshot.
World Champion Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) dropped his chain along the start and was near the back of the field as he tried to refire on the red carpet of the opening stretch, leaving him in 43rd position.
As the first lap unfolded, the muddy conditions saw riders slipping and sliding on all the early turns and ascents. Staying upright, the Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal duo of Vanthourenhout and Eli Iserbyt drove to the early lead, taking an 11-second advantage on a long line of chasers led by Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions).
By the second lap, Pidcock pounded the pedals and had worked his way through the field to pass Ronhaar for third place. Sailing across the wet course in the forest, the rainbow stripes then connected with the Pauwels Sauzen leaders, sitting on Vanthourenhout’s wheel. Van der Haar and Ronhaar trailed 10 seconds later to begin the third lap.
Pidcock continued to attack the course, splashing through the mud and took the lead on lap three, Iserbyt trying to match pedal strokes while Vanthourenhout faded a few seconds back. With another acceleration in the woods, Pidcock then put in a handful of seconds ahead of the current World Cup leader Iserbyt. In the action behind, Vanthourenhout moved into second place. Iserbyt rode solo in third while Ronhaar, Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions), Van der Haar and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads) pursued with a 35-second gap.
Vanthourenhout kept Pidcock in his sights as the race progressed, and was able to catch the World Champion with three laps to go. Meanwhile Iserbyt struggled. Nys made the pass and rode in his best position in an elite World Cup to date in third place. Then Sweeck passed Iserbyt in the pits with a fresh bike and took over fourth place.
Pidcock lost the wheel of the European champion on the fifth lap, until the Belgian slipped on an uphill run and the two grabbed fresh bikes in the pits together. Sweeck made a move and rode into third place ahead of Van der Haar, Nys having to make up more than 10 seconds to fight for the final podium spot.
A hard fall by Pidcock on a section of pavement early on the penultimate lap allowed Vanthourenhout to quickly gain seven seconds for the lead, which became 12 seconds on the final lap. The World Champion managed to close the gap several times but never enough to overtake the European Champion.
Van der Haar said he waited for the last lap to put pressure on Sweeck and used the effort to secure a spot on the podium.
“I just didn’t get the turbo on today. I just couldn’t push today. I was really struggling to get the pace. In the second half when the rest were getting more tired, I could secure a podium and that was all for today,” Van der Haar said at the finish.
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