The remarkable eighth place at the Belgian cyclocross championship was taken by road racer Gianni Vermeersch, who was only on his third cross of the winter and is not focusing on cyclocross at all. This makes Vermeersch consider staying a bit longer in cyclocross within his new environment at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, before focusing on a road campaign with Remco Evenepoel.
"On days like today, I still enjoy it. When it goes less well, it’s less fun, but I felt pretty good," Vermeersch explained afterwards for our camera. "I really liked the course, I tried to have fun and maintain a good pace. I knew my form was definitely good. If I could ride my own tempo, I knew I could still drop a few riders in the finale."
That is exactly how the last laps turned out. "In the final three laps, some riders faded and I was able to reel in some men. When I looked at the start list beforehand, the level was really high and I knew I had to perform quite well to get close to the top 10. Ending up here now means I can call this a successful Belgian Championship."
New Environment
For Vermeersch, after the races in Baal and Gullegem, this was only his third race in the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe kit, his new team after five years with Alpecin-Deceuninck and its predecessors. For that reason, he could no longer rely on the bus and equipment of that cyclocross squad. "But I have to say, I also had good support here. Sven Vanthourenhout and Tim Meeussen (team manager and coach) were here. I had a camper and good equipment at my disposal. That’s very motivating."
Vermeersch on training camp with compatriots Van Gils and Evenepoel - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Things are going so well that Vermeersch wants to keep going a little longer. "I’m still racing in Otegem (on January 12) and hope for a selection for the World Cup in Benidorm (on January 18). I’ll be in Spain anyway to train then. In Benidorm, we have a fairly fast course, and I hope I can maybe compete even better there. That will be my last cross," Vermeersch rules out the World Championships. "After that, I will go to altitude training in preparation for spring."
He doesn’t want to extend his campaign without reason. Just like, for example, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, he feels an advantage from those explosive efforts in his first passion. "It makes me better. I think I need that intensity for what’s coming on the road. Also, I’m getting a year older now. You can’t go into too much rest mode and have to keep the body active."
Remco Evenepoel
An especially important year awaits Vermeersch. In this new environment at the German Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, he has stepped out of his comfort zone after years as part of the core around Mathieu van der Poel in spring races. At his new team, Vermeersch will have to prove himself again in the spring squad that was disappointing last year. He was recruited as the man to turn that squad into a close-knit unit, as was always the case at Alpecin-Deceuninck.
"That still needs to develop a bit. Two weeks ago we had a good training camp with the whole team. That was fun," he outlines. Vermeersch was spotted then with Remco Evenepoel and later also rode over the Tour of Flanders course with the new big man of the German team. "There’s clearly a new Belgian breeze in the team in terms of support staff and riders. That’s also enjoyable."
Gianni Vermeersch| Race | Date |
|---|---|
| Cyclocross - Otegem | 12 Jan |
 Clásica Jaén | 16 Feb |
 Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta | 18 Feb - 22 Feb |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | 28 Feb |
| Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne | 1 Mar |
 Strade Bianche | 7 Mar |
| E3 Saxo Classic | 27 Mar |
| In Flanders Fields | 29 Mar |
| Dwars door Vlaanderen | 1 Apr |
| Ronde van Vlaanderen | 5 Apr |
 Paris-Roubaix | 12 Apr |
