Alpecin-Premier Tech's Tibor Del Grosso successfully defended his elite men's title at the Dutch Cylco-cross National Championships on Sunday, powering to the win after a tense battle with Pim Ronhaar and Lars van der Haar (both Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions).
After a touch-and-go fight with Ronhaar for much of the race, Del Grosso definitely distanced the Baloise rider on the penultimate lap after coming back from a small crash.
Ronhaar was then overtaken by his trade teammate Van der Haar, who valiantly chased Del Grosso but couldn't quite catch him, setting for second in his final national championships, as he was retiring after this campaign.
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Ronhaar held on for third after at one point being in a winning position, making it two Baloise riders on the podium but they couldn't beat the reigning champion who will wear the Dutch jersey for another year.
Despite his winning streak, Dutch world champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) opted not to ride the national championships, allowing for a much more open race.
How it unfolded
Like in the women's race, the course was clear of snow and fairly dry for the men's race, though it remained cold in Huijbergen.
Defending champion Tibor Del Grosso started with clearly a lot of motivation, pushing on on the first lap to quickly pull out a very small group, and it didn't take long before he emerged alone in the lead, trying to stretch a small gap on the chasers.
From a handful of riders in the second group, Pim Ronhaar soon pulled into the position of main chaser, only a few seconds behind Del Grosso, particularly after the Alpecin rider dropped his chain and had to put it back on whilst riding.
A tense battle ensued through the middle part of the race, with Ronhaar within touching distance of Del Grosso, and the third group of four chasers not that far behind him, either.
Ronhaar caught Del Grosso starting the fourth lap, and immediately moved into the lead position to assert dominance on the race, but Del Grosso was right with him. Under the pressure Ronhaar was exerting, Del Grosso slipped out and had a small crash, and although Ronhaar tried to push on, Del Grosso was back with him quite quickly.
The pair were not that far ahead of the chasing group of Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley Racing), Van der Haar and David Haverdings (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions), and soon Van der Haar was within touching distance of Ronhaar.
Sensing the danger of two Baloise riders behind him, Del Grosso then pushed on alone again, though a steep climbing section tripped him up during his attack and the gaps remained small with two laps remaining.
On the final, lap, though Del Grosso held firm as his chasers seemed to tire, and the 22-year-old successfully held on to defend his title and retain the blue, white and red jersey.
Van der Haar sprinted all the way to the line with Del Grosso in sight, but settled for silver in his final Dutch championships – he's won four times previously – and Ronhaar took bronze after a rollercoaster ride.
Results
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