Belgium showed that their position as the dominant cyclo-cross nation is not under threat when they made it a clean sweep of the podium in the junior men's race which opened the World Championships in the Dutch city of Hoogerheide. Thijs Aerts rode a faultless race to finally distance pre-race favourite and compatriot Yannick Peeters while local hero Joris Nieuwenhuis who had appeared to be the strongest rider in the race, made a number of mistakes that ultimately cost him the medal after being beaten by Jelle Schuermans in the sprint for bronze.

 

For Belgians, the weekend of the Cyclo-Cross Worlds is one of the most important of the entire sports season, with most of the nation having their focus firmly directed towards the local heroes who are battling for rainbow jersey. The cycling-mad country got plenty of reason to celebrate right from the beginning when they exerted their complete dominance of the opening race, the junior men's championships.

 

In the end, the rider to benefit the most from the dominance was Thijs Aerts who rode away with the win after a near-perfect ride. Pre-race favourite Yannick Peeters had a difficult race but saved the day by taking silver while Jelle Schuermans beat the local hero Joris Nieuwenhuis in a sprint to make it a clean sweep of the podium. With Kobe Goosens taking 5th and Eli Iserbyt 7th, the Belgian dominance was extraordinary.

 

Having found himself in a chase group earlier in the race, Aerts had played the role of consummate teammate when he tried to block Nieuwenhuis who had appeared to be the strongest in the race, at a time when the duo was in pursuit of Peeters, Goosens and Schuermans. However, things went his way when things got back together and when Goosens and Schuermans were taken out by a crash, Peeters, Aerts and Nieuwenhuis started the final lap together.

 

Peeters had been the big favourite but had got his race off to a bad start, spending the first part of the race in chase mode. Nieuwenhuis had used a lot of energy playing with the muscles in the early part of the race and had made a number of costly mistakes that had repeatedly set him back, the Dutchman apparently being a bit overexcited to ride a World Championships on home soil.

 

As opposed to this, Aerts had ridden a near-perfect race and on the final lap he still had plenty of energy left in reserve. With apparent ease, he dropped his rivals and had plenty of time to celebrate the win when he crossed the line.

 

"I still can't believe it but it will come. I am world champion," ," he said in the post-race interview and praised the dominant performance of the Belgian squad.

 

The world championships will continue at 15.00 CET when the women battle for the rainbow jersey. An exciting duel between reigning champion and local hero Marianne Vos and the seaon's dominant rider, American Katie Compton, is in store.

 

A big crash

The race was off to a very dramatic start as a big crash happened in the middle of the pack when they sprinted down the start straight towards the finish line. With more than half of the peloton coming either down or being held up, the number of contenders was already dramatically reduced before they race had begun for real but all the major favourites were ahead of the carnage.

 

While many riders were trying to get back into the race after the crash, the race went on at the front. The Belgians had the numbers as a small group forged its way ahead but their big favourite Yannick Peeters had been slowed down by the crash and was now working hard to get back to get back to the front.

 

Bad start for Toupalik

On the other hand, his big pre-race rival Adam Toupalik (Czech Republic) had made the front group but was apparently struggling, lost a bit of ground and was even overtaken by Peeters.

 

When they passed the line for the first time, Joris Nieuwenhuis (the Netherlands) led a small group across the line, with Kobe Goosens (Belgium), Peeters (Belgium), Jelle Schuermans (Belgium), and Yan Gras (France) some of the riders still in contention. Toupalik had just managed to get back while Eli Iserbyt was the nearest chasers, 8 seconds behind the leaders.

 

The Belgians show their cards

The Belgians still had the numbers and they started to accelerate when they started the second lap. Peeters, Thijs Aerts, Goosens and local hero Nieuwenhuis separated them slightly from the rest and as Nieuwenhuis realized the opportunity, the Dutchman hit the front.

 

Nieuwenhuis' fierce pace put several of the Belgians into difficulty as they were now hanging on for dear life, with Peeters appearing to be struggling the most. The pre-race favourite paid the price for his early efforts and fell off the pace before being even overtaken by Swiss rider Johan Jacobs.

 

Nieuwenhuis and Goosens in the lead

As they passed the second lap, Nieuwenhuis and Goosens were the lone leaders, with Aerts, Jacobs, Peeters and Jelle Schuermans (Belgium) following 8 seconds behind. Gras was at 14 seconds while a group with Toupalik and Iserbyt were in a group around 20 seconds back.

 

Nieuwenhuis asked Goosens to come through and the Belgian obeyed, despite his compatriots being in fierce pursuit. Nieuwenhuis took over again halfway through the lap and Goosens even narrowly avoided the disaster when he was close to crashing into the barriers.

 

Peeters bridges across

Nieuwenhuis was now really applying the pressure and when he accelerated hard on a small climb, Goosens could no longer keep up with the home favourite. As he changed bike in the pits, however, the front duo came back together, with Goosens again hitting the front.

 

Aerts had now almost bridged the gap but unfortunately he slipped in a muddy corner and while he was quick back on his bike, he was now back with the chasers. Instead, it was Peeters who exploited a bit of a standstill among the front duo to get back to the leaders, putting Nieuwenhuis up against two Belgians.

 

Bad luck for Nieuwenhuis

No one was eager to show their cards to early and the pace had clearly slowed down. Nieuwenhuis and one of the Belgians even had a small collision that destroyed the Dutchman's bike. Being unable to change gears, he lost ground on a climb and when they crossed the line for the third time, he had fallen back to Aerts while Schuermans had bridged across to the leaders.

 

The race was now led by three Belgians and Aerts played the loyal teammate for his compatriots by slowly Nieuwenhuis down, getting in front of him before hitting his brakes. Clearly annoyed by the tactics, the Dutchman finally reached the pits and promptly made a much-needed bike change.

 

Peeters alone in the lead

Back on a new bike, Nieuwenhuis promptly accelerated. He was helped greatly helped when a crash brought down Goosens and Schuermans and even though they were quick to remount, they were now back with Nieuwenhuis and Aerts.

 

This left Peeters as the lone leader and the pre-race favourite suddenly found himself in the perfect position after having had a less than perfect race. Behind, Nieuwenhuis was riding hard in a quest to get back to the front.

 

Aerts is the strongest

Aerts had appeared to be riding strongly throughout the entire race and he rode away from his companions to quickly close the gap to Peeters. The race was now led by two Belgians, with Nieuwenhuis being their nearest chaser.

 

Aerts went straight to the front and by now he was clearly the strongest. Peeters was clearly struggling but did enough to keep up with his compatriot.

 

Nieuwenhuis fights his way back

However, Nieuwenhuis had not yet given up and as the front duo hit the finishing straight to start the final lap, he had rejoined the leaders. Goosens and Schuermans were 12 seconds behind, with Jacobs following 3 seconds further behind.

 

Nieuwenhuis was the only rider in the front group to change bikes in the pits and this saw him lose a couple of seconds. Meanwhile, the two Belgians set a hard pace as they tried to get rid of their rival for good.

 

Aerts gets clear

Clearly, Aerts was still the strongest of the Belgians and he rode away from Peeters on a small climb. The latter fell back to Nieuwenhuis who was still trying to get back after his bike change.

 

Aerts was now going for gold, sensing that the rainbow jersey was within reach. While Nieuwenhuis recovered on Peeters' wheel, he kept extending his gap and halfway through the lap, it appeared that only disaster would deny him the win.

 

An all-Belgian podium is in sight

Nieuwenhuis almost crashed when he hit the front, trying to make a last-minute effort to get back. This allowed Peeters to get rid of the home favourite who fell back to Goosens, opening the opportunity for an all-Belgian podium.

 

Aerts was still riding smoothly while Peeters was clearly more focused on staying in 2nd than going for gold. Nieuwenhuis stayed on Schuermans' wheel as he saved energy for a last attempt to secure the home nation a medal in the opening race.

 

Convincing victory for Aerts

Aerts hit the finishing straight with a comfortable lead and had plenty of time to celebrate his rainbow jersey. Shaking his head, he raised his arms in triumph while Peeters rolled across the line to take 2nd.

 

Schuermans beat Nieuwenhuis in the sprint for bronze to make it an all-Belgian podium while Goosens followed a little later to put 4 Belgian riders in the yop 5. Jacobs was 6th while another Belgian, Iserbyt, took 7th. Gras was first Frenchman in 8th while the home nation got another rider, Sieben Wouters, in the top 10 which was completed by Frenchman Hugo Pigeon.

 

Results:

1. Thijs Aerts 45.55

2. Yannick Peeters +0.10

3. Jelle Schuermans +0.12

4. Joris Nieuwenhuis +0.13

5. Kobe Goosens +0.22

6. Johan Jacobs +0.35

7. Eli Iserbyt +0.43

8. Yan Gras +0.58

9. Sieben Wouters +1.10

10. Hugo Pigeon 1.19