The residents of Lokeren were only able to attend a cyclocross race in their own municipality for the first time in 2018. Sanne Cant and Daan Soete won the inaugural edition of the Rapencross, which a few years later has grown into a race that everyone knows. This was especially true after the Belgian Championship was held there in 2023. WielerFlits takes you through the history.
The cyclocross in Lokeren is still a young race. An organization by the trio Kurt Vernimmen, Bram De Brauwer, and Marc Janssens. The organizers have gained a lot of experience over the past years organizing events such as the Vestingcross in Hulst and the Belgian Championships in Kruibeke (2019) and Antwerp (2020).
“A few years ago – after our first events in Kruibeke – we got a request from the mayor of Lokeren to put their city on the cyclocross map as well,” Vernimmen told us a while ago. “It took some searching for a spot on the calendar, but when we organized the Belgian Championship in Kruibeke, there was space. We couldn’t organize two races within such a short timeframe.”
Eli Iserbyt won in 2021 – photo: Cor Vos
Thus, in the autumn of 2018, Lokeren was part of the Brico Cross for the first time; this series has since become the Exact Cross. The first edition was won by Daan Soete among the men and Sanne Cant among the women. “When it became clear that Belgian Cycling was still looking for a candidate to host the 2023 Belgian Championship, we went all in on that as well,” said Vernimmen. “One of the conditions was that we could still organize a couple of races beforehand: in 2020 and 2021.”
The second edition was held without spectators, but in the following years the public was welcome again. In 2023, a highlight followed for the organization when the Belgian titles were contested on the Lokeren course. Among the men, gold went to Michael Vanthourenhout after a thrilling battle with Laurens Sweeck; among the women, Sanne Cant was once again dominant.
Meanwhile, the Rapencross is no longer part of the Exact Cross series, but belongs to the X2O Badkamers Trofee.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 |  Joris Nieuwenhuis |
| 2024 |  Thibau Nys |
| 2021 | Eli Iserbyt |
| 2020 | Eli Iserbyt |
| 2018 | Daan Soete |
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Lucinda Brand |
| 2024 | Lucinda Brand |
| 2021 | Denise Betsema |
| 2020 | Aniek van Alphen |
| 2018 | Sanne Cant |
