Cant beats Compton in Zolder

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Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) won the fifth round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium on a sunny Saturday afternoon. With a cutting attack halfway through the final lap, Cant climbed away from Katie Compton (Trek Cyclocross Collective). Thanks to her second World Cup victory, Cant takes over the lead in the World Cup standings from Italian champion Eva Lechner (Colnago SudTirol) who finished eighth at the dry, fast course on the former F1 racing circuit.

“I had a better feeling in the uphill than Katie. I gave my all at the last climb," Cant said. "I’m happy I could win. I’m happy that I managed to get to the top each lap. It was getting increasingly trampled. The asphalt just ahead of it is hard, too. It’s a tough combination.”

A tumultuous start didn't favour Cant. The start lights malfunctioned, and the riders were forced to turn back to their start position. Ten minutes later than anticipated, a whist-blown start got the pack underway. “I was maybe in 10th position. There was a lot of wind and in front of me they fell down so I couldn't go to the front,” Cant said. British champion Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team) also had a difficult start, riding outside the top-15.

World Cup leader Lechner took the hole shot, and without Cant on her wheel she set a fast pace. That pace wasn't quick enough for Ellen Van Loy (Young Telenet-Fidea) who took over the command halfway through the opening lap. After a bumpy descent in which Kaitlin Antonneau (Cannondale) crashed, Cant was moving up. Van Loy and Cant were the only riders able to stay on their bike on the steep climb near the end of the lap. Van Loy kept the pace high and powered towards the finish with Cant, Lechner and Sabina Stultiens (Team Liv-Plantur) on her wheel. The four leaders had a lead of eight seconds on chasers Pavla Havlikova (MRM-Avalon), Nikki Harris (Young Telenet-Fidea), Sophie de Boer (Kalas-NNOF) and Compton.

During the second lap Compton moved up until she took over the lead position from Van Loy, while Lechner was losing ground. First she had to set foot on the ground at the off-camber climb and then she went over the handlebars on a steep drop. After two laps of racing Compton, Cant and Van Loy were leading the race with a gap of 15 seconds over Havlikova, Stultiens, Harris and Lechner. Van Loy was struggling at the back of this lead group.

At the final steep climb of the course Cant had a much smoother ride and she briefly distanced Compton; a running Van Loy lost a lot of ground. Cant reached the finish line with a small gap over Compton. Although the US champion came back, it was clear that Cant had a strong card to play in the final lap.

Compton kept going flat out and it appeared that Cant began to struggle to keep up during the first half of the penultimate lap, but during the final lap Compton seemed to ease up a little, allowing Van Loy to bridge back up. Instead of waiting for the final steep climb Cant moved ahead of Compton just before the off-camber climb. She climbed better and gapped Compton. At the final steep climb Cant extended her lead, powering solo towards the victory. When crossing the line Cant was clearly pleased with the way she captured the victory. A fist in the air from Compton showed that she wasn't disappointed with her second place. Third-placed Van Loy captured her first-ever World Cup podium spot, narrowly holding of De Jong. Mani confirmed her strong second place at the World Cup round in Namur with a fifth place in Zolder, finishing first of a large group.

In the World Cup standings Cant now holds 222 points. She takes the white jersey back from Lechner and has a bonus of 17 points over the Italian champion. Compton is third with 173 points.

The penultimate World Cup round is held next month in Lignières-en-Berry, France on January 17, 2016.

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