Lars van der Haar (Giant-Shimano) won the fifth round of the UCI cyclocross World Cup in Heusden-Zolder on Thursday. He did it alone, despite a furious chase from World Cup leader Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea) and a late-race mechanical.
After making an early solo move on the course’s paved stretch, van der Haar rode a blistering pace to extend his lead on the track’s wide-open power sections.
“I thought. ‘Let’s just ride; let’s just go and make a real attack,’” van der Haar said.
The World Cup leader was the only one who could keep van der Haar in striking distance. He got within 12 seconds of the Dutchman, but could not seal the deal.
With three laps to go, van der Haar’s advantage was 25 seconds over Pauwels.
Behind, Philippe Walsleben (BKCP-PowerPlus), Corné van Kessel (Telenet-Fidea), and Julien Taramarcaz (BMC) chased, fighting for third.
Then, Van der Haar had a scare on a bumpy descent. His chain fell off, and the 23-year-old tried desperately to pedal it back on, but to no avail. He was forced to come to a complete stop and put the chain back on. He fixed the problem swiftly, and kept his lead.
With two to go, van der Haar’s lead was still 21 seconds, despite the mechanical.
Though Pauwels rode a strong race, he could not bring back van der Haar on the final two laps. “I’ve been in good shape again and just needed that little bit of luck to finish it off,” said van der Haar.
“Today I thought it might happen again with my chain, but it didn’t,” he continued, referring to bad luck that has at times scuttled his races.
Van Kessel won the sprint for third, after patiently sitting in before making his jump right before the line.
American Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus) finished 18th.
Pauwels kept his World Cup lead, 80 points ahead of van der Haar, who won the series last year. Barring disaster in the final race, the Belgian should hold onto the white leaders jersey.
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