Cyclocross: Van der Poel disappoints in Val di Sole, the Belgian Vanthourenhout wins

Belgians always masters in Val di Sole. If in 2021, on the snow of Vermiglio he had won Wout Van Aertthis time the whitewashed and frozen course around the San Leonardo lakes, the tenth round of the season Cyclocross World Cuphe smiled at Michael Vanthourenhout, 29 years old, reigning European champion. The decisive attack came on the third lap. “Today there was a great atmosphere in Vermiglio. The track was really demanding for the cross-country skiing, the plan for my race was to try to make as few mistakes as possible and I succeeded. I tried to set up a pace race, and I finished it in the best way. Clearly snowcross is suitable for me, and in my opinion such a format deserves the five-circle showcase,” the final comment of the winner. The other Belgian Vandeputte and the Swiss Kuhn fought each other for the places of honour, with a third wheel called Laurens Sweeck, not surprisingly the leader of the World Cup. In Val di Sole, however, the young riders had the upper hand: Vandeputte, born in 2000, second, and Kuhn, 1998, third, both on their first career podium. Sweeck, fourth, can still smile: his first rival for the Cup, Iserbyt, was sidelined by a painful crash, so much so that he was forced to retire: he now has a 23-point margin on top of Vanthourenhout after 10 of the 14 stages on the calendar . The star of the day, Mathieu van der Poel, finished in 8th place at 3”14”, very dark in the face and never really in the race for the win. The best Italians at the finish line were Nicholas Samparisi, 14th, and Filippo Fontana, 15th. The Cup returns to Santo Stefano, Belgium, on the classic Gavere route.

Women: Persico bad luck, Puck Pieterse wins

The snow of Val di Sole has been able to overturn the forecast even in the women’s field. Fem Van Empel, the strongest athlete of this season, who had achieved her first success in the World Cup in Vermiglio in 2021, already slipped at the first turn, together with many others, the young Dutch woman then withdrew for the beating: as for Iserbyt, however no serious consequences. Dutch hat-trick on the podium: Puck Pieterse dominated for more than half the race. Behind her the compatriot Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Manon baker, good at overtaking Silvia Persico, also thanks to a crash by the Italian champion, a few corners from the closing. The other Italian, Sara Casasola, finished in the top-10, in eighth place, with Eva Lechner twelfth.

“Val di Sole always manages to surprise, whether it’s MTB or cyclocross, beautiful races are staged,” said Puck Pieterse. – “The route was even more treacherous than this morning. In the end, it was a matter of gaining confidence as the rounds went by. We’ve all made mistakes, but I’ve managed to make fewer than my colleagues.” “I felt good but at a certain point I started to lose grip and I still have to understand why,” said Silvia Persico instead. – “I’m still happy with the performance, but technique also counts in cyclocross, and snow isn’t my favorite surface. I thank the public for their support: now I’m aiming for my first victory in the World Cup in one of the next stages”.