Sunday, November 3, 2024 at 5:03 PM
Lars van der Haar hoped for a medal for a long time during the European Cyclo-Cross Championships in Pontevedra, but the Dutch leader ultimately fell out of the podium; he came fifth. “I just did everything I could and hoped for a medal,” Van der Haar said afterwards to NOS.
“At the end you know that it will be difficult if you have been in the lead for so long. Then you know that you no longer have a serious last round,” Van der Haar explains. “I noticed in the beginning that I was good, but not very good. When I was there again and Eli Iserbyt dived into the post and those boys jumped over the beams, that was actually the death blow,” he refers to Thibau Nys and Felipe Orts, who made the decisive attack there. “Then you know that you have to start riding again with Iserbyt on your wheel.”
“At one point I gambled that Iserbyt also wanted to be on the podium, but it was actually only for a short time that he was in the lead,” the Woudenberger continues. “So then you know it’s going to be difficult. It went so fast, I don’t remember much about the lap. It was tough.”
With Thibau Nys, a Baloise Trek Lions teammate of Van der Haar won the European title. “It is very nice for Nys. I would have really liked to win it myself. I didn’t hold back because he was my teammate, I really rode to win today. But we lacked the men and legs to compete against that block,” he refers to the small Dutch team, which had to compete against a large Belgian block.
Van der Haar was also clear about the performance of Felipe Orts, who took silver at home. “Cute! “I kind of expected it on this course, because when it’s in the wheels it’s not easy to get rid of it,” he admitted.
