Meeusen dominates in the sand at the Waaslandcross

Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) on the chase

Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) on the chase (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) used his early season form and experience in the sand to win the Soudal Classics Waaslandcross in the absence of world champion Wout Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. They were saving their legs for Sunday's Superprestige Ruddervoorde race.

Meeusen gradually opened a gap, using his running and riding skills in the long sand section and his power to get over the short but steeps ramps. Rob Peeters finished a distant second at 44 seconds, giving Meussen plenty of time to celebrate his win and give the crowd at the finish some high fives. European champion Toon Aerts finished third to complete a solid performance from Sven Nys team and make the new team manager happy.

Laurens Sweeck, winner of last year's edition of the race was an early victim of a mechanical problem, seeing his chances disappear along with his rivals. The same occured to Meeusen's rivals as he fought to hold his balance in the sand and opened a gap. He did not look back or hold back, gradually opening his an impressive lead on Peeters and the rest of the field.

"I’m one of the few riders who manage to grab a win every year," Meeusen pointed out.

"It was a nice duel with Rob Peeters, when I got 10 seconds it was a matter of not making any mistakes. It's a very nice race but we'll no doubt suffer tomorrow. I'm going to give everything but we come up again against other riders."

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions0:57:54
2Rob Peeters (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice0:00:43
3Toon Aerts (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions0:00:56
4Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games0:01:06
5Tim Merlier (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice0:01:18
6Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games0:01:31
7David Van der Poel (Ned) Beobank-Corendon0:01:40
8Jens Adams (Bel) Crelan-VastgoedserviceRow 7 - Cell 2
9Jim Aernouts (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions0:01:50
10Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Team Steylaerts0:01:57
11Joeri Adams (Bel) Kalas-NNOF0:01:59
12Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games0:02:09
13Diether Sweeck (Bel) ERA-Circus0:02:16
14Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Beobank-Corendon0:02:24
15Laurens Sweeck (Bel) ERA-Circus0:02:32
16Daan Soete (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions0:02:45
17Stan Godrie (Ned) Rabobank Development Team0:03:21
18Daan Hoeyberghs (Bel) Beobank-Corendon0:03:41

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Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.

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