Kevin Pauwels made an impressive comeback in yesterday's Superprestige race in Diegem. The Belgian came back from a disastrous start to finish third and save his options in the overall standings.

Kevin Pauwels went into the Superprestige race in Diegem as the overall leader in the series. However, the Belgian got the race off to a very poor start and after two laps, he was 45 seconds behind the leaders.

From there, he fought hard to get back in contention and after gradually jumping from group to group, he ended the race in third. In that way, he managed to defend his chances in the overall standings as he only dropped to second, one point behind leader Mathieu van der Poel.

"I crashed twice right from the beginning. It was slippery and Nys hit me. I crashed and then you are immediately left behind.

"Then there was again a rider on the ground and I crashed because of him. I was among the last riders. Of course that was not good. But I didn't panic even though I feared for my position in the standings.

"I wanted to score as many points as possible. I had one of my better days and could get back. I even finished ahead of van der Haar. This series remains a goal for me."