European Cyclo-cross Championships: Lentel Huys takes glory for Belgium in junior women's race

Belgium's Lentel Huys used her power on the daunting 99 stairs of Zeddam's course to stamp her authority on the junior women's race on Saturday morning, as the UEC European Cyclo-cross Championships in Zeddam in the Netherlands officially got underway.

The host nation had high hopes for glory, and Isis Versluis flew the flag for the Dutch, leading into the field from the green light. She was joined by her compatriot Nynke Jochems, along with another pair of pre-race favourites, Huys and Shana Huber (Switzerland), the four leading the charge following the opening lap.

The tough Zeddam parcours began to take its toll on subsequent laps, however, with gaps beginning to emerge. Czech Karolina Rothbauerová had joined the lead group, while Brit Peggy Knox struggled to stay in touch. By the time Knox made it back to the front, Huys attacked.

She maintained a confident presence at the front of the race, particularly on the arduous staircase where she was able to add seconds to her lead, while behind her, the chase group were disorganised and unable to mount a significant challenge to the dominant Huys.

Huys led Jochems and Huber by eight seconds heading into the penultimate lap but gained further ground on the stairs, and though the chasing pair were able to close the distance somewhat on the final lap, Huys held her ground, pushing hard on the final straight to hold the resurgent Huber at bay.

Huys took the European jersey at the first time of asking, while Huber claimed silver for Switzerland, with Jochems finishing third.

The junior men's race is set to take place on Sunday in Zeddam.

Results - Junior Women