Inge van der Heijden was leading the Superprestige before the Diegem evening cyclocross, but the chances of the European champion have seriously diminished. The Dutch rider crashed at the start and was too injured to continue her race.
It all went wrong in the first corner for the Crelan-Corendon rider. The 26-year-old got caught in the crowd and, to make matters worse, crashed at high speed. Van der Heijden stayed down for a moment and made no move to get back on her bike.
Van der Heijden proved unable to continue her cyclocross and decided to pull out. It is a harsh blow for the European champion, who was still very much in the running for the overall Superprestige victory.
Fortunately for Van der Heijden, the physical damage doesn’t seem too severe. Team director Marc Janssens told Sporza that the Dutch rider mostly suffered from abrasions due to her fall.
Bitter pill
Before the Diegem race started, Van der Heijden (with 62 points) was leading along with Aniek van Alphen. The latter now has an excellent chance in Diegem to extend her lead and – who knows – decide the battle. Third in the standings, Amandine Fouquenet, did not even start at the Diegem cyclocross.
| Rank | Rider | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Aniek van Alphen | 83 | |
| 2 | (1) |  Amandine Fouquenet | 76 |
| 3 | (1) | Inge van der Heijden | 62 |
| 4 | (1) | Hélène Clauzel | 51 |
| 5 | (2) |  Marion Norbert Riberolle | 50 |
| 6 | (2) | Lucinda Brand | 44 |
| 7 | (1) | Julie Brouwers | 39 |
| 8 |  Kata Blanka Vas | 29 | |
| 8 |  Sara Casasola | 29 | |
| 10 | (4) |  Jolanda Neff | 27 |
