The kerstperiode diaries: 3

All images: Tonke Berg

X2O Trofee Baal (1 Jan)

...also known as the GP Sven Nys... traditionally takes place on New Year’s Day – maybe it’s because Sven likes to be the first to check out the new kits? Yes, it was new kit day – and new team name day – for many riders and teams, with Nys’ team being the most noticeable in this regard, becoming the ‘Baloise Glowi Lions’ which is possibly too cute a name for a sport that requires its participants to repeatedly drag themselves through mud while carrying their bikes, but the accompanying kit stood out as one of the best ‘cross kits we’ve seen in a while. Pauwels-Sauzen also had a new sponsor 'Cibel clementines' but it's a bit long to type all that out so I'll probably not be using it that often. Though I applaud their commitment to vitamin C, we all need a bit more of that, especially at this time of year. Maybe not with sauce on top of them though. Anyway, on with the racing!

In the women’s race, Puck Pieterse and Fem van Empel lined up side by side in the centre of the front row, presenting a visual foreshadowing of the battle we were expecting to witness playing out, and both had a strong start, moving away into the lead with Lucinda Brand and American Katie Clouse chasing.

It wasn’t long before van Empel came into difficulty however, falling sideways in a muddy section early in the race, and taking her time to remount the bike and begin her recovery, as Pieterse and Brand took the incentive at the head of the race. Pieterse was one of few riders able to employ her technical skill to stay on the bike through the long muddy section while Brand opted to get off and run. Meanwhile van Empel joined the chase group which included a few of the riders who’ve been able to come to the fore in recent races, including Sanne Cant and Imogen Wolff, along with Manon Bakker, who’s had a relatively quiet season so far by her standards.

Pieterse asserted herself at the front of the race and was well in control, with Van Empel composed and working her way up the field behind. It was Brand's turn to suffer a crash next, coming down after over-cooking a corner, on a day in which everyone seemed destined to suffer at least one spill - none worse than Bakker who fell down a hole, literally, as she nose-dived in a hidden deep rut - it did not look like fun out there.

With van Empel moving clearly into third, there were no major changes in the spacing between the three front women for a while after that, until Puck Pieterse crashed quite heavily and Brand was able to begin to reel her back in. Once Brand had closed Pieterse down she rode right past her younger compatriot and took the lead, not wasting the opportunity to exert her dogged pressure on the race.

She was not immune to errors though, overcooking another corner and almost crashing into the barriers, and van Empel and Pieterse switched roles through the claggy mud section, van Empel riding Pieterse down in pursuit of the leader. The two came into the pits together and would reprise their rivalry in pursuit of the in-form Brand who was not letting this one go without her usual fight.

The two young rivals continued to trade blows, but stayed together, heading into the penultimate lap 13 seconds in arrears. Pieterse took the advantage for a while but messed up her entrance into the slick mud section, and van Empel pounced and stormed up the climb to close down Brand with the finish line rushing towards them. Suddenly, there were two women at the head of the race and from enjoying the solo lead for almost three laps, Brand would now face head-to-head sprint against van Empel for the first time this season.

In the end there was half a bike length in it, Fem van Empel staging a staggering recovery to come back through the field in time to fight for the win in one of the most stone cold displays of composure you’re ever likely to witness. A truly stunning comeback, heartbreak at the last moment for Brand, and an incredible spectacle for the fans, arguably the women's race of the season so far - go back and watch it, if you have time.

There were an unusually high number of absentees from the elite men’s field. Wout van Aert was never down to ride, but Mathieu van der Poel was, and he withdrew with an ongoing rib injury. There was also no Michael Vantourenhout, Laurens Sweeck, Niels Vandeputte, Felipe Orts, Lars van der Haar, or Joran Wyseure, and of course, with so many missing there was an opening for a different rider to take the initiative.

A name new to the pointy end of races so far this season, Daan Soete, became the early leader, with in-form Michael Boros on his wheel. Behind, arguably one of the favourites for the win in his home race, Thibau Nys, went head over heels in a similar manner to Manon Bakker after already suffering a bad start, so it was left to Eli Iserbyt and Pim Ronhaar to chase down the leaders, followed by a group of around five more.

Another rider who has been riding his way into form this season, Emiel Verstrynge, took his chance to launch into the lead group, and Ronhaar followed, as Soete faded and Nys fought his way back through the group.

Crashes for Toon Aerts and Jente Michels in the chase group allowed Iserbyt and Nys to open up a gap in 3^rd and 4^th until Nys had to pit for a shoe change, and Iserbyt tried to fight his way up to join the lead duo of Ronhaar and Verstrynge, two young men who were capitalising on their opportunity to shine, in the absence of some of the bigger names.

Iserbyt eventually bridged to the pair after a few false starts on lap 3 and the three led into lap 4 with 13 seconds lead over the chasers. Pim Ronhaar was determined to try and move clear, but while he was able to drop Verstrynge briefly he couldn't lose Iserbyt, and Verstrynge too fought his way back, with Aerts and Nys battling behind in 4th and 5th place.

Iserbyt kicked away on lap 6, and found a gap – he appeared to be in good form and was riding with confidence, and though the two youngsters put in a determined effort to try and hang onto the Belgian champion, he was simply too strong on the day. his experience and patience paying off, as he came through to record his first win since 24^th November. Behind, Ronhaar gritted his teeth to move clear into second place, with Emiel Verstrynge foreshadowing what would be an excellent weekend for him with a strong third place to complete the podium.

X2O Trofee Koksijde (3 Jan)

Despite not being a fixture on the World Cup schedule, the lauded sand race at Koksijde drew a top field to take on its dunes and sandpits, as the first of three consecutive days of racing that would conclude the kerstperiode.

Lucinda Brand, Puck Pieterse and Fem van Empel were all present for the elite women, and unsurprisingly, they were all involved in the action from the beginning, with the addition of Inge van der Heijden, who was quick off the mark and stormed into the early lead alongside Pieterse, with van Empel in close quarters just a few bike lengths back, and Brand behind her.

Pieterse accelerated towards the end of the lap to gap van der Heijden, taking a 6 second advantage into lap 2, with van Empel 21 seconds down. She now had Lucinda Brand for company – her poker face not fooling anyone, after her impressive display in Baal.

Van der Heijden wasn’t going to take it lying down though, and passed Pieterse on the uphill running section, with Pieterse chasing her down the moment they were back on their bikes. The two stayed locked together until van der Heijden came into contact with the barriers and dropped back, with Brand and van Empel bearing down on her in third and fourth.

As the race wore on, Pieterse’s lead grew, the young Dutchwoman absolutely flying around the course, and van der Heijden slowly recovering her composure and riding the sand sections really well, as van Empel closed her down. The lone chaser became a chasing trio as they headed onto lap 3 of 5, 30 seconds behind a flying Puck.

With van der Heijden fading, Brand showed her strength and sand-riding skill across lap 4, gapping van Empel and moving into clear second place. But Pieterse continued to show supreme confidence, attacking the course even though she had space to play with, not easing off the gas at any point. She completed her impressive ride to take her first victory of the season, 19 seconds clear of Brand, who was a further 20 seconds ahead of van Empel.

The men’s race began with drama, as a nasty crash on the opening corner brought a number of riders down, with Niels Vandeputte one of the worst affected. Ahead of the melee, Tibor Del Grosso made the strongest start, with sand specialist Laurens Sweeck in his wheel, and they were able to open an early lead over the rest of the field.

Behind, a chasing group of five formed, featuring two more Crelan-Corendon riders – Joran Wyseure and Toon Vandebosch – alongside Pim Ronhaar, Toon Aerts and Daan Soete. But heading into lap 2, the race leaders were away and clear, with Del Grosso riding an excellent race once again and able to hold onto Sweeck. As for the Sandman himself, he was proving once again how assured he is on this surface. Surfing over the sand with supreme confidence and style, Sweeck is a master, but Del Grosso wasn’t phased at all, throwing in at attack of his own at the end of lap 2 to try and make an impact on the race, and giving Sweeck something to think about.

Behind, Ronhaar attempted to bridge across from the chase group to the leaders on lap 3, but found himself in no-man’s land as the two leaders continued to trade blows, Del Grosso testing Sweeck’s resolve, attacking again on lap 4 and pulling out an advantage, proving himself every inch the sand specialist and more than a match for the Belgian. A tiny error saw his advantage dissolve though, and later on in the lap, Sweeck found his way into the solo lead for the first time in the race. Heading into lap 6, the gap remained slender at just 2 seconds, with no sign of the elastic snapping, and Del Grosso once again came back to Sweeck. It really was a head-to-head race of two protagonists.

Further down in the field, Eli Iserbyt was working his way closer to the front of the race, along with Vandeputte who was staging a remarkable recovery from his early crash. Meanwhile at the front, Sweeck pulled clear once again, with a concertina-type effect as he used his favoured sections to his advantage, and Del Grosso followed suit on other sections, not allowing Sweeck to finally snap the elastic.

But snap it did, at the end of lap 7, aided by another small error from Del Grosso as his bike caught on a barrier, and Sweeck rode to victory in style, with an impressive career-best result for Del Grosso in second, and Aerts third.

Superprestige Gullegem (4 Jan)

The first of two courses highly suited to the strongest runners in the cyclocross peloton, Gullegem was a slick, tricky, intricate, undulating nightmare of a course that offered no margin for error, and very few places in which the best riders could make a difference. This was fantastic news for the viewer however, as it meant close, unpredictable racing.

In the women’s race, as Puck and Fem chose to sit this one out, Zoe Bäckstedt marked her return to the field by leading out on lap 1, followed by Leonie Bentveld. Ceylin del Carmon Alvarado and Lucinda Brand pursued the two young riders, to form a leading quartet.

Heading into lap 2, Backstedt upped the pace, and the rest of the field began to be distanced under the pressure of the young Brit. Alvarado moved up into second and Bentveld was able to hang on in third, though Brand looked to be struggling more than usual just behind in fourth.

Brand caught onto the group but had a slow bike change and dropped back again, and was almost caught by Marion Norbert Riberolle. The lead trio moved clear, with Alvarado attacking but unable to shake off the two younger riders, and moving into the penultimate lap, Backstedt took back control, looking very smooth through the sand section and running well, as Brand continued to labour alone in fourth place.

Not for long though. In her usual terminator style, Brand fought tooth and nail to get back on and she was able to pass Bentveld to move into the podium positions. At the front, Alvarado and Backstedt were incredibly well matched, but heading into the final lap, Brand caught the pair and immediately moved through to take the lead, and the increased tempo put Backstedt under pressure, despite her having looked strong throughout the race to that point.

Brand was supercharged after that, opening up a gap to Alvarado on the final lap, but the battle for second place was on, and Bäckstedt and Alvarado clashed just before the finishing straight, as Bäckstedt ran past Alvarado in the sand and tried to take the inside line, but knocked Alvarado with her bike leading the Dutchwoman to retaliate by pushing Bäckstedt a couple of times. The resulting sprint to the line was a fiery encounter, but the Brit edged it, taking second place. For Brand, another win in the bag, and a continuation of her incredibly consistent season so far, which hasn't seen her finish outside the podium places once.

The field in the men’s race was short a few key names, with Mathieu van der Poel once again absent, along with Thibau Nys, Pim Ronhaar, and Toon Aerts among others. On the other hand, Wout van Aert returned to the field, and he formed part of a large leading group that pulled ahead on lap 1, which comprised nine riders in total, and was led out by Felipe Orts.

Into lap 2, and the group split, with a quartet moving clear, Michael Vantourenhout taking the initiative at the head of the race and bringing Emiel Verstrynge, Laurens Sweeck and Van Aert with him for company. Such is the nature of the course though, that Lars van der Haar, Eli Iserbyt, Clement Ventuirini and Orts were able to close down the lead group, with Kevin de Bruyckere, Ryan Kamp, Lander Loockx, Cameron Mason and Niels Vandeputte all catching on at the back, to ensure that almost every team in the race was represented near the front of the race.

Heading into lap 4, Wout van Aert took the reins, moving into the lead and beginning to turn the screw, with the huge bunch at the head of the race splintering under his accelerated pace. Cam Mason was the first casualty from the group, crashing around the hotdog turn heading into the pits. At the front, the same four riders eked out a gap over the rest as had briefly led on lap 2, with the exception of Verstrynge who was replaced by his teammate Wyseure,

On lap 5, Van Aert accelerated again, with Vantourenhout the only man equal to him, as Eli Iserbyt moved into the chase behind with Wyseure, and Sweeck falling off the pace.  Lars van der Haar must have crashed as the next thing we knew, we were being treated to the sight of him popping a clearly dislocated shoulder back in again using his saddle, enough to turn the stomach but not the first time we’ve seen him do it, proving he’s hard as nails but probably also should spend some time with a physiotherapist. Ouch.

As Vantourenhout headed into the lead once again, Iserbyt closed the gap to Van Aert in second, putting Pauwels-Sauzen-Cibel Clementines (yes, they’re really called that now) in a strong position heading into the business end of the race. Iserbyt himself took up the challenge heading into lap 6, leaving Van Aert to do the chasing.

And chase he duly did, the current and former Belgian champions finding themselves head-to-head at the front of the race with two laps remaining. They remained locked together deep into the final lap, until a couple of small mistakes in quick succession allowed the Visma-Lease A Bike rider to pull clear and from there, the win was inevitable. Van Aert back at the top, recording his first win of the season on just his second appearance.

UCI World Cup Dendermonde (5 Jan)

The final race of the kerstperiode was round 8 of 12 in the UCI World Cup, and once again, the course in Dendermonde presented a mud-soaked nightmare of a prospect, with long, rutted mud sections leading to short, sloppy mud sections, leading to, well, basically think of a big mud pit, throw in a few gallons of water, stir it all up and you’ll be getting somewhere close to the state of the place, which has drawn criticism over the years for its fitness to host a World Cup, and with a washboard section that was so slippery it was actually unrideable (with the exception of a select few - well done Blanka Vas and Emiel Verstrynge), it was certainly hard to see the appeal of the course, if not only from an aesthetic perspective, so too from a racing angle, as once again, both the men’s and women’s races were won by significant distances. The course simply isn't conducive to close battles, and in fact, both the men’s and the women’s races saw gaps of over 3.00 separate the winner from 10^th place – the only other example of this wide a gulf all season being women’s Gavere.

As such, I’m not inspired to write a full race report – as far as entertainment goes, I’d rather re-watch Gullegem, and advise you to do the same. That’s not to take anything away from two supreme performances by the winners, though, both of whom made it a winning weekend. For the women, Lucinda Brand capitalised on her excellent form to take victory, making it two from two. She finished 30 seconds clear of the chasing duo of Puck Pieterse and Fem van Empel, who didn't look at her best on a course which she has historically not achieved good results, with Pieterse completing a strong weekend to take second place.

Unsurprisingly, Wout van Aert was the strongest of the men, winning the race by an impressive 1:20 – for context, he’s won both his previous appearances at the race in a similar manner, in 2020 and 2021. In second place, a spirited ride from Emiel Verstrynge, a career best elite result for the 22-year-old, and a cherry on top of a brilliant weekend for arguably the most consistent rider of the second half of the kerstperiode.

If you want to catch up on the rest of the 'Crossmas period, read part 1, part 2, and this one-off special piece on arguably the best race of the season so far in Diegem.