Cant wins in Zonhoven

European and Belgian champion Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) won the second round of the Superprestige series in Zonhoven, Belgium. Cant won ahead of the Young Telenet-Fidea duo Nikki Harris and Jolien Verschueren. Sand specialist Cant recovered from a late crash when diving into the legendary Zonhoven sand pit and rode away from Harris in the final lap.

“Sand is fun and I can ride it quite well. I would have been disappointed to be beaten in my playground. I felt quite well and think I was the best rider in the race,” Cant told Telenet Play Sports after her victory.

Cant strengthens her lead in the Superprestige series as she also won the opening round in Gieten, Netherlands. Cant totals the maximum of 30 points which is two more than Harris.

Cant featured in the front of the race straight from the start although behind the top guns a crash marred the race for some. In front Harris led an elite lead group with Sanne van Paasen (Boels-Dolmans), Cant & British champion Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team). When Cant accelerated only Harris was able to keep up.

During the second lap Harris went over the handlebars when diving into the sand pit, offering Cant an easy lead. Harris didn’t give up and kept Cant in sight. In the penultimate lap Cant crashed on the exact same location. She had to run back up in the sand to pick up her bike. Once she recovered her bike she opted to run down in the sand. “I wanted to hop back on the bike but realized that this would cause a second crash,” Cant explained. A few moments later Harris came riding down into the sand pit and she briefly overtook Cant.

In the final lap the leading duo seemed to be heading for a sprint but Cant decided differently. She rode away in the final sand sections. Harris was a strong runner-up at 7 seconds. “First I figured to try in the sand pit but she managed to hang on pretty well and even took the lead again. In the section after the pits I went full gas, hoping I got rid of her because you’re full of lactic acid in the following running sections. It’s super hard,” Cant said.

Jolien Verschueren confirmed her good form on a course that doesn’t suit her too well by finishing solo in third place at nearly a minute from the winner, well ahead of Sanne van Paassen. “I need to improve my start because I’m always losing ground towards the first corner. I don’t know if I would’ve been a threat to Sanne and Nikki but I would’ve been closer,” Verschueren told Sport.be.

The third round of the Superprestige series is in Ruddervoorde, Belgium on November 8.

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