French National champion Amandine Fouquenet outpowered the favourites to claim a surprise victory in the Superprestige Heusden-Zolder with a blistering solo attack on the second-to-last lap.
Fouquenet brooked no rivals on a very technical, fast course where dry weather helped keep the speeds very high throughout, her late, swift charge very effectively pushing Blanka Vas into second and Aniek Van Alphen into third.
By far the most aggressive rider in the group of five that formed in the first third of the six-lap race, Fouquenet finally stormed away alone on a series of viciously short, steep climbs in the finale.
Fouquenet's second victory of the cyclocross season was probably one of the last for the soon-to-fold Arkea-B&B Hotels squad. But the biggest win of her career on such a historic 'cross circuit will do no harm whatsoever to the 24-year-old's chances of gaining a last-minute contract for 2026.
"This is the greatest victory of my career," Fouquenet said afterwards in comments reported by Sporza.be. "Of course, I was already French champion twice. But winning in Belgium is a very different ballgame.
"Hopefully, this victory will earn me a new contract. Preferably with a team where I can continue to combine road and cyclocross."
The unusually dry winter in Belgium was making for some high-speed races, and one featuring part of a Formula 1 course in Zolder like the fifth round of this year's Superprestige series was always going to be no exception to the rule.
After a very fast start, Fouquenet, Aniek Van Alphen (Seven Racing), European Champion Inge van de Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) and SD Worx-Protime's Blanka Vas forged their way, clear, and the headwinds on the very long finishing straight also allowed Vas' teammate Marie Schreiber to join the four leaders. That said, the high speeds meant that once the break of five had opened up a gap, there was no way back for the chasers.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given she's on the hunt for a contract for next year, Fouquenet did much of the early driving. Her ability to ride on some of the sandy, steep uphills allowed her to push open the gap on the ascents - and it was on one such climb that she finally launched her winning move too - with Flamanville World Cup winner Van Alphen and Vas only just able to match her back on the descents that followed. Schreiber and Van der Heijden kept in the mix on the flatter sections, and the gap by the mid-way point on the six-lap course was 18 seconds and rising.
Perhaps encouraged by the ferocious pursuit made by Marion Norbert Riberolle, a former winner on this circuit in the Belgian Nationals, the five kept their pace as high as they could. Vas was able to push on a little on the fourth lap, but such was the high speed that nothing could stick, and every slight error - easily made at such a pace - brought a regrouping of the five ahead.
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Easily the most aggressive on the early laps, Fouquenet was constantly chivvying her rivals to help. Unable to stop Norbert Riberolle regaining contact with the five leaders at the start of lap 5 and pass a flagging Schreiber, Fouquenet then piled on the pressure again, with Vas closely shadowing her behind.
Making the most of a vicious series of wooded drops and rises at the end of the same lap, the French Champion finally opened up a gap, and with 10 seconds at the bell, the big question now was who would be willing - or able to chase.
As events turned out, nobody could stop Fouquenet, as the lack of collaboration behind proved critical all the way to the line and even saw Vas and Van Alphen exchange words as they finished, presumably about their failure to chase effectively.
By then, though, Fouquenet had claimed the first international cyclocross win for a Frenchwoman since Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in 2017 at Overijse. But to judge by the power she packed on the climbs and fast descents of Heusden-Zolder, it won't be the last.
2025 Superprestige Heusden-Zolder women's podium, with winner Amandine Fouquenet as winner (centre) (Image credit: Getty Images)
Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express and Reuters.
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