In simply his second race since returning to cyclocross this winter, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) took his first victory of the season on the Superprestige Gullegem after an exciting battle with Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines).
Van Aert resisted powerful challenges all through the eight-lap race close to Kortrijk, with Iserbyt and his teammate Michael Vanthourenhout placing him below critical strain till the latter dropped away and the previous made a mistake on the ultimate lap which allowed Van Aert to trip solo to the win.
It regarded as if Iserbyt would possibly be capable to higher his Belgian compatriot as he took over the lead as soon as the pair took the bell forward of the remainder of the sphere, nonetheless, Van Aert was just too neat in his efficiency. Iserbyt and Vanthourenhout did come dwelling safely to take second and third.
The race was Van Aert’s first win for the reason that World Cup in Benidorm final January and marks an entire comeback to kind after his highway season was ended quick in September as a result of a heavy crash on the Vuelta a España.
“I needed to dig deep. I assumed I had a lead, however after I rode by means of for the primary time, Michael [Vanthourenhout] and Eli [Iserbyt] had been nonetheless there. So I simply targeted on the ultimate,” mentioned Van Aert post-race, pleasantly shocked at the place his kind is.
“I began this winter with out expectations. I say it each time, nevertheless it appears exhausting for folks to imagine as a result of they’re used to me at all times competing to win.
“For me, it’s actually a shock that I can do that already. 2025 has began and it feels actually good.”
Superprestige sequence chief Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) fought again after a gradual begin to end fifth and lengthen his general lead over second-place Lars van der Haar (Baloise Glowi Lions) after the Dutchman needed to relocate his shoulder. Vandeputte will head into the ultimate spherical in Middelkerke with a 10-point lead.
After Lucinda Model soloed to victory within the girls’s race in Gullegem, the anticipation stayed excessive for the beginning of the boys’s race because it introduced the second look of Van Aert within the 2024-25 cyclocross season.
With all eyes on the Belgian, he received off the road rapidly from the second row and jumped rapidly into third, earlier than ultimately setting into the main group of 9 riders, with race favourites Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon), Vanrthourenhout and Iserbyt all current.
A small slip from Van der Haar allowed Vanthourenhout, Sweek and Emiel Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon) to get a small hole. Van Aert rapidly sensed the hazard and closed the hole to make it 4 with a slim lead.
Van Aert moved into the lead for the primary time in the beginning of lap 4 and began to use the strain. With a better tempo and extra abilities on present, solely Vanthourenhout may stick with the three-time CX world champion.
Vanthourenhout took over from Van Aert after a small mistake from the Visma man. However on the similar time, Iserbyt started to shut the hole with Joran Wyseure (Crelan-Corendon) shut behind to make it a gaggle of 4 in entrance.
Iserbyt took over from his teammate to once more assault Van Aert on lap six, forcing him to work exhausting and maintain issues collectively till he retook the lead on the penultimate lap.
Van Aert put in a sequence of jabs however struggled to drop the Belgian champion, ceding the lead as soon as once more in the beginning of the ultimate lap. Nevertheless, Iserbyt made one small mistake adopted by a much bigger error when he received caught on a steep financial institution, permitting Van Aert to trip away for his first victory of the winter.
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