X²O Trophy Koksijde (women)
13:45 Koksijde
In her 6th cross of the season, Puck Pieterse was able to make the victory gesture for the first time. Pieterse stayed almost clear in the sand of Koksijde and won ahead of Lucinda Brand and Fem van Empel. Brand remains the firm leader in the X²O classification and is almost certain of final victory.
The value relationships were clear from the first strips of sand.
Fem van Empel was having a hard time, Lucinda Brand had to quickly chase after a failed passage and Puck Pieterse drove away from everyone while whistling.
Inge van Der Heijden kept her company for a while, but after a hitch on a post, the challenger’s spring broke.
Pieterse, although not a sand specialist, continued to play concentrated in the sand and did not tolerate anything successful catch-up race as we saw in Baal.
Brand and Van Empel, protagonists of that thriller on New Year’s Day, came for a quick nibble, but nothing more. They played leapfrog in the background and finished 2 and 3 in that ranking.
Best Belgian was Sanne Cant in place 5. Julie Brouwers (7th), Marthe Truyen (8th) and Laura Verdonschot (10) also finished in the top 10.
Pieterse puts an end to drought: “I can’t handle it very well”
“I’m very happy,” the winner responded. “It took a while to get my first victory, but I had a good feeling on the bike and for once I didn’t make any big mistakes.”
Pieterse’s victory gesture showed a lot of relief. “Was I getting impatient? I can’t handle it very well if I don’t win,” she laughed. “But it’s also about the feeling and that got better and better.”
“I tried to maintain my confidence and the staff also saw that I was getting closer week after week.”
Although it still became a bit of a connection. “I even had a doomsday scenario like in Baal in my head, but after the passage over the Herygers dune I knew it was in.”
“I completely messed up in the first round,” Brand made no bones about it. “I don’t know how I was messing around there.”
“I had to put that behind me and after that my cross was mediocre. I had already resigned myself to the fact that it was for 3rd and 2nd place. In the last round I came even closer, but victory was no longer possible. “
“Today was out of the question,” Van Empel sighed. “I had already noticed yesterday that I was not completely fit. This morning I was fine, but during the reconnaissance it was less so again.”
“Something like that is in your head and I just couldn’t make any progress. I rode one more good lap and I made the best of it. For the rest I just had to fight. A 3rd place is not bad, I hope again soon to be fit.”
Result X²O Trophy Koksijde
| name | result | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puck Pieterse |
45’42” |
| 2 | Lucinda Brand |
+ 19″ |
| 3 | Fem Van Empel |
+ 39″ |
| 4 | Inge van der Heijden |
+ 53″ |
| 5 | Sanne Cant |
+ 1’43” |
| 6 | Manon Baker |
+ 1’46” |
| 7 | Julie Brewers |
+ 2’33” |
| 8 | Marthe Truyen |
+ 2’36” |
| 9 | Denise Betsema |
+ 3’06” |
| 10 | Laura Verdonschot |
+ 3’38” |
The result:
Pieterse
Brand
Van Empel
Van der Heijden
Cant
Pieterse wins convincingly
Pieterse wins!
Koksijde and Pieterse, it has not been a successful marriage in recent years. She has now put an end to that: she wins convincingly.
The misery in the sand is almost over for Pieterse, who can prepare for her first victory.
We saw an impressive Pieterse today.
Ruben Van Gucht
The positions appear to be fixed. Pieterse, Brand, Van Empel and Van der Heijden. Will that top 4 be confirmed in a few minutes?
Pieterse had to give up some of her bonus. 16 seconds, the chrono tells us.
Brand’s turbo seems to be working completely. Too late?
End of round 4
The bell rings for Pieterse. Will she be able to crow victory for the first time this season?
Brand is now the first pursuer at 19″, Van Empel is at 25″.
Van Empel always has to get off very quickly on the sand strips. In this way, Van der Heijden can erase part of her deficit, but her podium position is under pressure.
The battle for the podium spots will be fierce. Van Empel has the biggest engine, Van der Heijden is the best at cutting through the sand and Brand, as X²O leader, mainly keeps an eye on things.
She is holding off for a 16th Belgian title, but Sanne Cant is once again the best Belgian rider today. She drives around in 5th place.
Make up for the gap with Pieterse? No, that won’t happen again.
Paul Herygers
End of round 3
Pieterse refuels with a gel. 2 more rounds.
Things are coming together again behind the lonely leader. Van Empel, Brand and Van der Heijden are clocked at half a minute.
We had to wait a long time for it, but the frisky Pieterse chooses a dead end and drives into the crush barriers. Without too much trouble.
Pieterse drives into the crush barriers without any problem
Van Empel finally surfaces and rushes to 2nd position. Will she get into her rhythm and can she make up for anything? 22 seconds is a big gap, but in Baal she was also such a predator.
Van der Heijden does not give up, but the fact that Van Empel and Brand are breathing down her neck is a bad sign.
Pieterse has not yet been on the podium in Koksijde, but her first victory of the season is in the air. She remains flawless.
Solo?
Pieterse continues to put pressure on Van der Heijden and after her hug with the post, the Dutchwoman is suspended again.
Is Pieterse on his way to a solo?
Where do the Belgians ride? Truyen is 6th, Cant and Brouwers do not lose sight of her. Verdonschot follows a little further in 11th.
End of round 2
Pieterse
Van der Heijden at 11″
Burn on 23″
Van Empel on 25″
Brand and Van Empel’s backlog is not getting smaller. On the contrary.
At the front, Van der Heijden is gradually walking towards Pieterse again, although she continues to falter on a post and gives up a few seconds again.
Van der Heijden is clearly the first in running gear, and Pieterse tries to compensate for that imbalance with her technical skills.
The leader of Fenix-Deceuninck throws her competitor loose again, but there does not seem to be a final verdict yet.
Pieterse and Van der Heijden
The leading duo is evenly matched. Van der Heijden is certainly keen on a good performance and does not shy away from taking the lead.
The difference with Brand and Van Empel is correspondingly. They will have to do a very tough job of catching up.
At the finish, Van Empel gives a resigned impression. Brand also rushes past her.
In the meantime, Van der Heijden has got hold of Pieterse. It’s just the two of us again.
End of round 1
We measure the damage after the first round.
Pieterse
Van der Heijden on 6″
Van Empel on 21″
Burn on 22″
Pieterse is the specialist par excellence for the time being. She hasn’t made any mistakes yet.
Ruben Van Gucht
Sanne Cant had to pass the torch as the best Belgian to Marthe Truyen. Laura Verdonschot remains in the rearguard upon her return.
Pieterse is appalled
Pieterse is inspired by Van der Heijden and in turn drives away from everyone. Van Empel also has no answer. She allows herself to be caught making mistakes in the sand.
Koptrio
Van der Heijden accelerates, Pieterse sticks to her wheel. Van Empel cannot be caught and closes the breach.
In the background, Brand has to go to work after her missed sand shot.
Watch the start: Van der Heijden and Pieterse are off strong, Brand is in a bit of a mess
Van der Heijden impresses on the Herygers dune. Things immediately go wrong for Brand. She has to get off the bike and falls back quite a bit in the field.
A playful Sanne Cant stuck her tongue out at the camera at the start. She feels happy here and is currently 4th.
The holeshot goes to Fem van Empel. Inge van der Heijden and Puck Pieterse accompany her in the first grass strips. Lucinda Brand didn’t get off to a good start, but quickly made gains.
Start!
With a shy sun on their faces, the women start their appointment in Koksijde. They have 49 participants. How heavy is the sand?
No Alvarado
Just like in Baal, we expect a titanic clash in Koksijde between Fem van Empel, Lucinda Brand and Puck Pieterse.
Ceylin Alvarado focuses on the other classifications and skips this X²O Trophy round.
Last year, Fem van Empel only added the Duinencross to her program at the last minute after knee problems. She promptly recorded her 14th victory of the season.
X²O Trophy
Related News :