Niels Vandeputte dominates Krawatencross Lille

Niels Vandeputte won the X2O Trophy Lille. The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider broke away halfway through the race from Felipe Orts and rode the second part of the race solo. Orts finished second, while Michael Vanthourenhout claimed third place.

The full podium from Saturday in Middelkerke was also present on Sunday in Lille. Michael Vanthourenhout, Niels Vandeputte, and Gerben Kuypers were naturally among the favorites in the Krawatencross. Additionally, all eyes were on Joris Nieuwenhuis, the leader of the X2O Trophy. His overall victory seemed almost secured with only two races left, but the Dutchman was eager to claim another win.

Vandeputte sets off with Orts
Another Dutch rider, Mees Hendrikx, had the best start. He led the pace in the opening minute. Vandeputte quickly took his wheel and then took over just before the first sand section. The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider pushed hard and came through first after the opening lap. Only Orts was still on his wheel; the rest of the field was already completely spread out. Cameron Mason, second in the X2O Trophy standings, lost a lot of time early on. He would eventually drop to fourth place overall.

Vandeputte kept up a strong pace in the following laps. Orts was able to follow but was constantly stretched to his limit. Behind the two leaders, a group of four formed with Hendrikx, Nieuwenhuis, Vanthourenhout, and Toon Aerts. After three of eight laps, they were eighteen seconds behind the leading duo. In the fourth lap, the gap grew to half a minute, and even Orts had to drop back by a few bike lengths.

Vandeputte wins convincingly
Those few bike lengths became half a street length in lap five. From there, Vandeputte continued to extend his lead. He soloed confidently to victory, while Orts had to settle for second place. Behind them, Vanthourenhout and Nieuwenhuis battled for third. In that fight, the Belgian ultimately prevailed and earned a spot on the podium.

Due to the significant time loss by Mason, Nieuwenhuis extended his lead in the X2O Trophy standings. He had a lead of just over two and a half minutes on Mason, but now holds a comfortable advantage of more than three and a half minutes over the second-placed rider, Vandeputte. The final race of the points classification is scheduled next in Brussels.