In-form Maud Kaptheijns (Creland-Charles) captured her first ever UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup win in the dunes of Koksijde, Belgium,on Sunday afternoon.
Kaptheijns stormed away on the opening lap and completed a race-long solo. Compatriot Sophie de Boer (Breepark.nl) finished as runner-up at 52 seconds, while world champion Sanne Cant (Beobank-Corendon) won the sprint for third place at 1:27.
“This is my first World Cup win so I’m very happy. Before the race I wasn’t confident that I could win here," Kaptheijns said in the post-race flash interview. "I know when I start really fast that I can ride through the sand. It’s only in the sand sections that I went really hard. I hope that I can be up there every weekend.”
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Kaptheijns managed the hole shot in Koksijde and then bided her time. She was briefly passed by fast starters Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team) and Lucinda Brand (Team Sunweb). In the descent of the Herygers-dune, Kaptheijns surged forward. Sophie de Boer and Kaitlin Keough (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) briefly managed to keep up.
Halfway through the opening lap, Kaptheijns hammered up the Albert-dune. The young Dutch ace rode up the dune, where all the chasers were forced, or opted to run up the climb. Kaptheijns opened up a gap on De Boer that grew up to 10 seconds at the first passage of the finish line. From there, the gap kept increasing as Kaptheijns was in total control in Koksijde, not making any mistakes. De Boer skipped last weekend’s racing due to illness and was unable to match Kaptheijns. Nevertheless, she was never threatened for second place as Keough faded back.
Cant battled for third place with Pan-American champion Katherine Compton and Loes Sels (Crelan-Charles). Compton got stuck in the sand just before hitting the final lap and she had to let go of Cant. A few moments later, Sels powered towards Cant. The two Belgians exchanged accelerations but in the final sand section Cant managed to distance Sels.
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