Toon Aerts has become European cyclocross champion in the elite men’s category for the second time in his career. After an incredibly thrilling battle in Middelkerke, he defeated Thibau Nys in the sprint. Joran Wyseure took the bronze.
The event promised to be an exciting European Championship from the start. Thibau Nys was the main favorite, but the defending champion did not feel in top form, partly due to rib complaints. Moreover, the competition was fierce, especially within the Belgian team itself. Sand specialist Laurens Sweeck, Michael Vanthourenhout, and Toon Aerts all lined up at the start. The Netherlands counted on Pim Ronhaar and Joris Nieuwenhuis, who recently won in Lokeren.
Many changes
While Toon Aerts got the best start, Nys had a much slower takeoff. The top favorite then moved up to the top five with one maneuver but lost some ground again shortly after. Everything was still extremely close. At the first passage, Mees Hendrikx held the lead. Also in the lead group were Vanthourenhout, Nieuwenhuis, Ronhaar, Nieuwenhuis, Cameron Mason, Niels Vandeputte, Felipe Orts, Joran Wyseure, and Nys. Sweeck followed at a small gap.
Michael Vanthourenhout in the opening phase - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
In the second of eight laps, Vanthourenhout launched an acceleration. He opened a gap, but Ronhaar and Nieuwenhuis quickly returned, and shortly after, Wyseure, Aerts, and Nys followed. The other favorites were also able to rejoin the group in lap three. In that same lap, Aerts pushed on. The Belgian gained some distance from the rest, after which Ronhaar bridged across and immediately took the lead. But again, the others managed to catch back up. This kept creating different scenarios.
Leading group grows
This continued in lap four. First, Nys took the initiative, then Vanthourenhout increased the pace. Under the latter’s momentum, four riders broke away: Vanthourenhout himself, Nys, Ronhaar, and Wyseure. This quartet created the first serious gap of the day. At halfway point, they had a thirteen-second lead. In lap five, during which Ronhaar briefly escaped the others, the gap grew to 21 seconds. Would we witness a four-way battle?
It seemed so, but in the sixth lap, Aerts impressively closed the gap. And led by Mason, the rest of the field got the leading group back in sight. Mason even rejoined before the passage over the beach, followed by Emiel Verstrynge, while Hendrikx was still lurking nearby. With eight contenders remaining, they entered the final lap. Wyseure led this group of eight at the bell and increased the pace significantly.
Aerts beats Nys
Heading towards the beach, Ronhaar took the lead. Nys tried to pass him in the subsequent running section but failed. The Dutch rider thus kept the lead, but Aerts, Wyseure, and Nys were still on his wheel, while Mason and Verstrynge were also still in contention. Nys then managed to ride past Ronhaar but saw Aerts pass him in turn. Fortunately, Nys was still on Aerts’ wheel when they entered the final straight. A sprint would decide which of them would become European champion.
Aerts launched the sprint from the front and held on. This secured him the European title for the second time in his career, nine years after his first European championship in 2016. Nys had to settle for silver after his win last year. The third place went to Wyseure.
UEC Cyclo-cross European Championships| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 58:40 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | + 03 | |
| 4 | + 04 | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | + 12 | |
| 7 | + 25 | |
| 8 | + 33 | |
| 9 | + 37 | |
| 10 | + 42 |
