Aniek Van Alphen (777) used her bike skills to bunny hop the barriers and then surge away from her rival to win the Exact Cross Essen race near Antwerp.
With many of the biggest women on their way to Ireland for Sunday’s Dublin World Cup, Van Alphen took advantage, confirmed her success in last week’s Superprestige Boom race and impressed on the fast course despite the freezing temperatures of Belgium in mid-December.
Behind Alicia Frank (De Ceuster-Bonache) eventually got away to take second, with Yara Kastelijn (Crelans-Fristads) beating Britain’s Anna Kay (777) to take third place.
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