The final round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Hoogerheide, Netherlands turned out to be a sloppy mudfest. It proved to be the perfect terrain for Dutch rider Sophie de Boer (Kalas-NNOF), who rode to her first-ever World Cup victory. The 25-year-old completed the race solo. She finished 35 seconds ahead of Dutch champion Talitha de Jong (RaboLiv Women Cycling Team) and British champion Nikki Harris (Boels Dolmans Cycling Team).
“It’s indescribable. I’m really happy that I could win today. Last week I felt really strong. It’s a course I really like. It’s heavy: a slow course with a lot of mud. I felt really great. It’s incredible I could win,” De Boer said in the post-race flash interview.
Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) briefly featured in front with De Boer and Harris but she struggled hard in the extremely muddy section on a talus at the end of each long lap. She was unable to pose a threat to De Boer but her fifth place was more than enough to secure the overall victory in the World Cup. Cant finished ahead of her last rival Eva Lechner (Luna Pro Team) who finished eighth in the sludge of Hoogerheide.
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“I haven’t worked towards these types of courses. This was a power course and that clearly wasn’t my thing. I’ve got this classification in the pocket and I’ll probably win the other two [Superprestige and Bpost Bank Trophy] as well. Next week I don’t have to rescue my season,” Cant told Telenet Play Sports.
De Boer impressed during the opening lap and briefly rode away in the mud. De Jong and Harris were the only riders who managed to bridge back up. Early on in the second of four laps, De Boer once again opened up a gap on the two national champions and this time she continuously extended her lead. “I couldn’t believe it. I had a really good start. I had a little gap but didn’t want to start too fast. The first lap I wasn’t riding 100 per cent. Then I saw after the first lap I still had a gap. Then I gave it all and was able to extend the gap,” De Boer explained on Telenet Play Sports.
Behind De Boer it was clear that 22-year-old De Jong and Harris were each other’s match although Cant was continuously trying to keep the duo in sight. At the end of the third lap De Jong was riding at the edge of the course in the deep-mud section on the talus when she hooked into the barriers with her brake lever. Suddenly Harris was alone in second place at half a minute from De Boer. De Jong didn’t give up and quickly fought back on the uphill road to the finish, trailing 29-year-old Harris by four seconds.
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