Niels Vandeputte increasingly among the greats. After two career successes in the X2O Trofee, achieved last February in Lille and a month ago in Hamme, the Flemish ace achieved his first career victory in the World Cup. He did it on a track that was far from simple like that of Hulst, running in the lead from the first to the last corner and starting the Christmas period in the best possible way.
The route
From the Citadel from Namur to Hulst Fortress, the World Cup faces another race with a very high difficulty rate: the Hulst course is difficult from every point of view. Riders face many short, steep climbs, some of which require them to get off the bike to continue on foot; there is no shortage of technical sections, including a long descent into the mud where knowing how to control the bike is essential. Compared to last year, some changes have been made to accommodate the public, which is always very large during the Dutch cross.
The match report
The Hulst race was one of the most anticipated of the season: in addition to having one of the most technical and tough courses of the World Cup, it was Hulst who opened the Christmas period of this season. Furthermore, for full-time cross-country skiers, the fourth round of the World Cup represented the last event before the return of the world champion Mathieu van der Poelscheduled for Sunday 22 December in Zonhoven.
Van der Poel's teammate had the best starting point, Niels Vandeputte. The Belgian started strong and from the first corner he gained a small advantage over his closest pursuers: the Cup leader Michael Vanthourenhout, Lars van der Haar e That is, Iserbyprotagonist of a good start despite the physical problems suffered in Namur. At the end of the second lap Vandeputte led the race with a lead of 23″ on Izerbyt, Vanthouren wood e Felipe Orts Lloret and 30″ up Van der Haar, Thibau Nys, Pim Ronhaar e Emiel Verstrynge.
The slippery surface put even the most technically skilled riders, like Vanthourenhout, in difficulty: the Belgian had to give up his third consecutive World Cup victory after two falls that removed him from the podium positions. In pursuit of Vandeputte they remained Orts Lloret e Izerbyt: from mid-race onwards the two started to nibble a few meters on the tread.
With three laps to go the Spanish national champion gained precious seconds on Iserbyt, who in the meantime had to defend himself from the return of Ronhaar, to launch himself alone in pursuit of Vandeputte. In just one lap the gap between Vandeputte and Orts Lloret was halved and the Spaniard managed to establish eye contact, raising hopes of witnessing a head-to-head for the final success.
Vandeputte's difficulties, however, lasted little more than one lap; in the last two laps the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider strengthened his lead to secure his first Cup victory. The native of Brecht crossed the finish line first with 9″ on Orts Lloret and 20″ on Ronhaar, who on the last lap relegated Iserbyt to fourth place (+36″). Best performance of the season for Mason who took 5th place, 58″ behind the winner. Also in the top 10 Vanthouren wood (7th at 1'30″), who limits the damage and remains leader of the general classification. The crisis continues Nys (16th at 3'09″): the last top 10 dates back to more than a month ago in the Superprestige at Merksplas.
The World Cup returns tomorrow with the appointment in the sand of Zonhoven. On the The Pit we will witness the seasonal debut of Mathieu van der Poelwho will also be at the Zilvermeercross in Mol on Monday, valid for the Superprestige, for the first seasonal clash with Wout Van Aert.
