Van Anrooij wins second race of year at Exact Cross in Mol

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Brand secures second while Worst takes third at Zilvermeercross

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Dutch Shirin van Anrooij competes during the womens elite race of the Zilvermeer Mol cyclocross cycling event race 58 in the Exact Cross competition in Mol on December 23 2022 Belgium OUT Photo by JASPER JACOBS BELGA AFP Belgium OUT Photo by JASPER JACOBSBELGAAFP via Getty Images
Shirin van Anrooij dominates sand to win Zilvermeercross at Exact Cross in Mol(Image credit: JASPER JACOBS BELGA/AFP via Getty Images)

Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions) rode solo under the lights and won the Exact Cross round in Mol Friday. Teammate Lucinda Brand surged past Annemarie Worst (777) at the mid-point of the race and the duo secured the final spots on the Zilvermeercross podium, Brand in second and Worst in third.

The top five women in the World Cup standings were absent from the Friday night ride in the rain, including the leading duo of 20-year-olds Fem van Empel (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) and second-placed Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Van Anrooij earned her first elite World Cup victory in Beekse Bergen against the two rivals and is now sixth in the World Cup standings. 

She still had to negotiate a wet course, deep sand and former World Champion Brand to secure her second victory of the season. 

“My start wasn't great, but I wanted to get to the sand first and use that stretch. I made a mistake once and the rest didn't get any closer. Then I knew: if I don't make any more mistakes, then I will make it," she told Gazet van Antwerpen. 

Van Anrooij took control of the race from the start, joined on the first laps by Worst, with a gap to Backstedt and Brand. 

It was on the second lap that Brand broke away from the young Briton and joined Worst. 

With one lap to go, Brand chased alone in second place, 23 seconds behind the leader and Worst then tried to close a gap that began to widen from six seconds. The quartet held positions to the finish.

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Jackie Tyson
Jackie Tyson
North American Editor

Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.

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