Lars van der Haar found himself in a great position when he followed Kevin Pauwels in the finale of the Superprestige race in Spa before he went down in a crash on the final lap. However, the Dutchman didn't use it as an excuse, admitting that Pauwels had been the strongest rider in the race.

Lars van der Haar has raced to an impressive second place in the latest round of the Superprestige cycle-cross series at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium. With this strong result, van der Haar moves back into the joint lead in the series with race winner Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb – Napoleon Games Cycling Team).

The result was not only impressive for the ride he put in on the day but it also came two days after a bout of gastroenteritis which saw van der Haar sidelined from Saturday’s World Cup race at Koksijde.

van der Haar got his race off to a strong start, moving into third place through the first turn and almost never came off that spot. When Pauwels made his decisive move, van der Haar was quick to jump on his wheel and the pair pulled away into the race lead.

“Because he was sick this week I didn’t expect him to be able to follow Pauwels the whole race but he managed it and rode a good race,” said coach Dirk Reuling after the finish. “Unfortunately he had a small crash in the last lap and that caused the gap. It’s a shame as with the finish uphill I think that the sprint would have been very exciting. It was a very impressive performance.”

"I really wanted to win here but today Kevin was the strongest," van der Haar told Sporza. "I was absolutely shattered at the end. I am still happy with my performance. This course suits me. It is a bit like Valkenburg. Some sections are dangerous though and the organizers need to take that into account in the future."