Meeusen wins Superprestige in Ruddervoorde

Telenet-Fidea rider Tom Meeusen won a hard-fought third Superprestige round in Ruddervoorde, Belgium, on Sunday, out-sprinting Mathieu van der Poel (BKCP-Powerplus) and Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Napoleon Games). Sven Nys (Crelan-AA Drink) finished fourth in the sprint after a fast race on a dry course.

"I was having a great time. The level was high so I had even more fun, rode even closer on the wheels, riding narrow lines," an excited Meeusen said in the post-race interview tent. "Ruddervoorde is quite a big race and I've never won here. I wanted to score here and I managed to do so."

Van der Poel becomes the sole leader in the overall standings, overtaking former leaders Nys and Lars van der Haar (Giant-Shimeano). Van der Haar had to overcome a mid-race tangle with Telenet's Corné van Kessel to salvage his position in the rankings, and after finishing fifth he is now third overall.

Van der Poel was pleased with his performance although he missed a chance to do better. "More was possible. I wanted to lead the group when entering the sand section but I made a mistake and ended up riding in third place. That was too far to have a chance in the sprint. Nevertheless I'm pleased that I'm the new leader. It's a nice bonus," Van der Poel told Cyclingnews.

The win from Meeusen came after a fast and tactical race on the meadow with artificial hills and the cobbled road of the Pyfferoen family in Ruddervoorde. Meeusen was already present in the early lead group which also included Van der Haar and Vantornout.

During the fourth of ten laps Nys closed the gap on the leaders. The Belgian champion was followed by Jens Adams (Vastgoedservice-Golden Palace), Corné van Kessel (Telenet-Fidea) and Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games). The large lead group of eight riders battled each other for several laps without creating major damage. The eight men were to battle for the win in the final lap.

"The group was too big for me," Nys said. "If you want to win here you need to be aggressive enough to hold your ground. I lacked that today." In the final laps Nys sat at the back of the group, saving his energy for a last lap surge to the front but he only managed to move up to fourth place.

By the time Nys made his move, Meeusen was already riding his lap-long sprint. At first he was helped by a bobble from Vantornout but then a small mistake through the sand section put the Sunweb rider back into contention. "I was praying that I would not make a mistake. I made a mistake. Luckily I had enough left in my tank to ride the sprint," Meeusen said.

Vantornout didn't have an acceleration left in his legs to repeat his victory from last year. "It's the course that ruined it for me. I'm not a super technical rider. I felt really strong though. I'm pleased that I'm consequently battling for the win," Vantornout told Cyclingnews.

The next round of the Superprestige series is held next week in Asper-Gavere.

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team1:03:06
2Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling TeamRow 1 - Cell 2
3Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling TeamRow 2 - Cell 2
4Sven Nys (Bel) Crelan - AA Drink TeamRow 3 - Cell 2
5Lars van der Haar (Ned) Giant-Shimano Development Team0:00:12
6Jens Adams (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team0:00:15
7Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team0:00:30
8Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team0:00:57
9Joeri Adams (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team0:01:06
10Bart Aernouts (Bel) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team0:01:09
11Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team0:01:23
12Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team0:01:42
13Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Crelan - AA Drink Team0:01:46
14Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team0:01:54
15Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team0:02:10
16Twan van den Brand (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling TeamRow 15 - Cell 2
17Jim Aernouts (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling TeamRow 16 - Cell 2
18Tim Merlier (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team0:02:26
19Gert-Jan Bosman (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continentaal Team0:02:35
20Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team0:02:37
21Niels Wubben (Ned) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team0:02:48
22Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team0:03:07
23Michael Boros (CZE) CEZ Cyklo Team Tabor0:03:22
24Patrick Gaudy (Bel) Veranclassic-Doltcini Cycling Team0:03:25
25Marcel Meisen (Ger) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team0:04:12
26Eddy van IJzendoorn (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team0:04:27
27Yu Takenouchi (Jpn)0:04:31
28Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team0:04:43
29Kenneth Van Compernolle (Bel) CCN - Metalac Cycling team0:05:00
30Hendrik Sweeck (Bel) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team0:05:18
31Stijn Huys (Bel) Orange Babies Cycling TeamRow 30 - Cell 2
32Niels Koyen (Bel) CCN - Metalac Cycling teamRow 31 - Cell 2
33Kevin Van HoovelsRow 32 - Cell 2
DNFRob Peeters (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling TeamRow 33 - Cell 2
DNFRadomir Simunek (Cze) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling TeamRow 34 - Cell 2
DNFLubomir Petrus (Cze)Row 35 - Cell 2
DNFDavid van der Poel (Ned) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling TeamRow 36 - Cell 2
DNFJan Denuwelaere (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling TeamRow 37 - Cell 2
DNFVinnie Braet (Bel)Row 38 - Cell 2
DNFDenis Flahaut (Fra)Row 39 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Superprestige standings after 3 rounds
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team40pts
2Sven Nys (Bel) Crelan - AA Drink Team39Row 1 - Cell 3
3Lars van der Haar (Ned) Giant-Shimano Development Team38Row 2 - Cell 3
4Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team34Row 3 - Cell 3
5Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team34Row 4 - Cell 3
6Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team33Row 5 - Cell 3
7Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team24Row 6 - Cell 3
8Jens Adams (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team20Row 7 - Cell 3
9Bart Aernouts (Bel) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team18Row 8 - Cell 3
10Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team13Row 9 - Cell 3
11David van der Poel (Ned) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team12Row 10 - Cell 3
12Niels Wubben (Ned) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team9Row 11 - Cell 3
13Jim Aernouts (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team8Row 12 - Cell 3
14Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team8Row 13 - Cell 3
15Joeri Adams (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team8Row 14 - Cell 3
16Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team7Row 15 - Cell 3
17Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Crelan - AA Drink Team6Row 16 - Cell 3
18Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team5Row 17 - Cell 3
19Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team4Row 18 - Cell 3

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