Cant wins in Middelkerke, seals Superprestige overall victory

Sanne Cant (Iko-Beobank) won the final round of the Superprestige Ladies Trophy in Middelkerke, sealing her overall victory in the competition. Maud Kaptheijns (Crelan-Charles), her main rival for the title, finished in second place 12 seconds later. Laura Verdonschot (Marlux-Bingoal) won the sprint for third place, 48 seconds down.

Going into the race, Cant (92) led Kaptheijns (91) by just one point in the rankings, and a win for either woman would seal the overall title. Kaptheijns had started out strong, winning the first four rounds of the Superprestige, while Cant had won the previous two rounds.

The duo had the best start of the field, setting the tone for the race, set on a mud and sand course beyond the North Sea sand dunes.

It didn’t take long for the groups to sort themselves, with Kaptheijns and Cant in the lead. A handful of seconds further back Verdonschot, Ellen Van Loy (Telenet-Fidea Lions), Loes Sels (Crelan-Charles) and Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Corendon-Circus) formed an elite chase group.

Kaptheijns looked potentially the strongest in the early stages, riding through the toughest sand sections where oth-ers, including Cant, were forced to run. At the midway point of the race, with the chasers 30 second back, it was time for moves to be made up front.

On lap three, Cant powered away Kaptheijns on the twisting early section, but couldn’t hold the gap, leading to a back-and-forth battle on that lap and the penultimate lap four. At that point Cant looked to be in control, with Kaptheijns unable to get any real advantage.

The beginning of lap five saw the decisive move. On the same section as she had two laps earlier, Cant got a gap, and this time it was a race-deciding one. The battle for third place had seen the chasers reduced to Del Carmen Al-varado, Sels and 21-year-old Verdonschot, with the latter prevailing in a sprint to the line.

The main glory - and her third Superprestige title - went to Cant though, capping

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