Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) was the strongest in a battle of skill in the sand against Tibor del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to claim victory at the X2O Trofee Koksijde-Vlaamse Duinencross in Belgium on Friday.
“The victories mean a lot. I really like it here… the sand, so I’m happy to be first and on the podium,” Sweeck said in a post-race interview.
Sweeck opened several gaps on his rival in the final laps but Del Grosso refused to let go, putting himself back into contention after each attack. However, Sweeck made his winning move with a lap and a half to go, opening a gap on Del Grosso, who fumbled around a turn in the sand and ended up settling for second place of the day at 26 seconds.
Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens-FSP) completes the podium in third place, 52 seconds behind.
After Puck Pieterse took victory in the elite women’s race, the men lined up to start in dry but cooler conditions in Koksijde.
On the second lap, Sweeck took the lead with Del Grosso behind him and the two men opened up a significant gap on the rest of the field.
Lone hunter Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions) ran 11 seconds behind the leaders and still a handful of seconds ahead of a chasing trio made up of Aerts, Toon Vandebosch (Crelan-Corendon) and his teammate Joran Wyseure.
Nearly 40 seconds behind, and probably out of the podium race, were Corne van Kessel (Deschacht-Hens-FSP), Michael Boros and Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal).
Del Grosso was impeccable in the sand sections on the fourth lap of the second half of the race, using this technical skill to open up a small gap on Sweeck. The gap was short-lived, however, and the two men found themselves three laps from the finish.
Sweeck regained control in the sand on the next lap and outpaced Del Grosso, crossing the line two seconds ahead of his rival. The two men were evenly matched and Del Grosso managed to kick out this time, with the two getting back together.
Aerts continued alone at 46 seconds, followed by Vandebosche, Iserbyt, Gianni Vermeersch and Van Kessel, all separated by several seconds and losing more than a minute to Sweeck and Del Grosso.
Sweeck pulled away from Del Grosso again in the uphill sand section on the steep slope, while his rival showed signs of fatigue as he struggled to close the gap. Not giving up, Del Grosso reconnected with Sweeck two laps from the finish.
Sweeck proved his strength on the next sand climb and technical section, as Del Grosso’s pedal caught on the fence and lost momentum. The rider from Crelan-Corendon crossed the finish line hearing the bell announcing the last lap with 15 seconds to spare.
Sweeck continued to widen his gap with Del Grosso as he took the final lap and sealed the race victory.
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