Laurens Sweeck makes good progress in World Cup but remains self-critical after Koksijde

When Mathieu van der Poel attacks in the cyclocross, it is often the start of a winning solo, but Laurens Sweeck really managed to respond to the world champion on Sunday during the Koksijde World Cup race. However, it did not lead to an exciting head-to-head, as the Belgian ultimately had to acknowledge he was clearly the inferior rider.

Still, the leader of Crelan-Corendon made an impression in the sand of Koksijde by catching up to the usually untouchable Van der Poel in the second lap. Not long after, however, he couldn’t keep up with a second blistering acceleration from the Dutchman.

“I thought I had a good chance for a moment, but I let myself get pushed off track a bit foolishly,” Sweeck reflects with Sporza on this crucial phase of the race. “After that, I experienced a few stutters in the sand. Maybe we rode a bit too laxly on our approach to the sand sections.”

“After Mathieu’s acceleration, I had to focus on chasing. I tried to close the gap but quickly felt that I wouldn’t be able to catch him again.”

So, Sweeck decided to focus on the battle for second place in the final stage. That was no easy task, as he had to contend with Tibor Del Grosso and Niels Vandeputte, two riders from Alpecin-Deceuninck.

“In the last lap, I rode my best sand section on the Herygers dune. I felt like I was pulling away by ten seconds there, but on the Albert dune they were still very close. At that moment, I was really going all out, but the advantage of being in front is that you can minimize your mistakes.”

Sweeck in the striking World Cup jersey – photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos