The Belgian cyclo-cross championship has been won by Marion Norbert-Riberolle. In a stone cold and ice-covered Zolder-Heusden, the Crelan-Corendon rider was by far the strongest. Laura Verdonschot came second, ahead of Julie Brouwers. She thus became the successor to cross legend Sanne Cant. Sterre Vervloet was the best among the promises.
It was still questionable whether the championship would continue today, because the conditions were particularly harsh. The Heusden-Zolder car circuit, where the start-finish strip was laid, was covered with ice this morning. For this reason, the novice cross was postponed, but the elite ladies were eventually able to start as planned. Without defending champion Sanne Cant: she will retire after this season and would not defend her jersey. That means we would have a new champion for the first time since 2009(!).
At the start it was top favorite Marion Norbert-Riberolle who immediately ran into difficulties. She got stuck in the first corner and had to change bikes. As a result, she immediately had to give chase. That was the sign for Team De Ceuster-Bouwpunt to increase the pace. Laura Verdonschot and Alicia Franck drove away in pairs to increase the pressure on the former Frenchwoman. However, he did not panic. She gave chase and gradually caught up with the leaders. And already in round two she joined her competitors. She didn’t give them a moment’s rest: she rushed over them straight away.
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-Norbert-Riberolle drives away with force majeure, tension for second place
There was no defense against the Belgian born in Troyes. In less than two laps she drove half a minute away from her first pursuers. There Verdonschot had to make do without her teammate, because Franck had fallen back. She was, however, joined by Julie Brouwers. The Intermarché-Wanty rider worked her way back to the wheel of her compatriot, six years her senior. Behind a dominant Norbert-Riberolle, who was able to finish the last lap with ease and receive the black-yellow-red jersey, Verdonschot was ultimately stronger than Brouwers. She came second.
Result Belgian cyclo-cross championship 2025, women:
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
