[Cyclo-cross] Marie Schreiber in reconquest

Suffering last week in Besançon, the national champion should regain her position on Sunday in the 8th round of the World Cup where she still occupies 4th place.

Four points behind is not much,” Marie Schreiber noted last week. Exhausted, she had gone to the end of the 7^e sleeve in the icy air of Besançon, despite a cold from which she had been suffering for several days already. Its 18^e place, under these conditions, had become purely anecdotal.

“I lasted twenty minutes, but after that I was tired. I knew I could be top or flop, it was mostly flop. I finished so as not to lose too many places in the World Cup rankings, but I admit that I held on so as not to give up. I just wanted to finish. I can’t be disappointed with these circumstances. Morale remains good, and I will come back for the next round,” recalled the national champion.

Now fourth in the ranking and second hope since her opponent and nevertheless friend Zoe Bäckstedt stole the distinctive jersey from her, Marie Schreiber will seek to get back into the game as quickly as possible. “There are four rounds left, so it’s not over,” she observed

A week later, here we are. If last year, the resident of SD Worx-Protime had been forced to abandon in Dendermonde (fall), on Sunday she will find her opponents who are now familiar to her. The cohort of Dutch women. The current world champion Fem van Empel.

Former world champions Lucinda Brand, World Cup leader and Ceylin Alvarado. But also Puck Pieterse, whose form is rising crescendo, Inge Van der Heijden, but also Manon Bakker and the hopeful Leonie Bentveld. The Englishwoman Zoe Backstedt. Her Hungarian teammate Blanka Vas, third in Besançon behind Van Empel and Brand.

From one round to the next, we almost always find the same faces. And to tell the truth, we never get tired of it! Note also that Maîté and Layla Barthels will also be at the start.

Among the men, Mathieu Van der Poel, who beat Baal on 1^is January for the GP Nys, then Friday in Koksijde, due to significant pain in his ribs following a fall in Loenhout (which did not prevent him last Sunday from dominating his rivals), will be back.

The positions:

Femmes: 1st Brand 215 pts; 2. Van Empel 169; 3. Bäckstedt 153; 4. Scribe 149; 5. Vas 147…

Hommes: 1. Vanthourenhout 189 points; 2. Aerts 164; 3. Wyseure 126…