Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) swept to a solo win in the sand of Niel to score his second victory of the season at the third Superprestige round of 2024-25.
The Niel race was held on Monday, which was the Armistice Day public holiday in Belgium.
Sweeck went solo on lap one to secure the victory well clear of the battle for the remaining podium places, which played out on the final lap of eight as heavy rain fell on the latter stages of the hour-long race.
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He crossed the line with an eight-second advantage over his rivals as Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Spanish champion Felipe Orts (Ridley Racing) caught Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) to battle for second and third place on lap eight.
In the end, former European champion Iserbyt was left behind on the second half of the closing lap as Orts pushed on at the front to drop Vandeputte.
Orts scored the best Superprestige result of his career in second place, while Vandeputte rounded out the podium at 16 seconds. Iserbyt finished fourth at 27 seconds and Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) was the final man home within a minute of Sweeck at 48 seconds.
"In the beginning, I didn’t really put pressure on it. I just tried to find a good rhythm, tackle the obstacles well and get into a flow," Sweeck said in the post-race interview, according to WielerFlits.
"That actually worked out pretty quickly. I didn't start doubting when it started raining, but you do start to get tired and then it becomes treacherous. The mistakes did creep in. It was good that it was only in the last lap.
"Yesterday I really suffered. Today too, of course, but it went a bit better. I didn't expect to be in the lead here from start to finish. It's difficult to ride in a group on this course, but this is a bit unexpected."
Sweeck hit the front of the race from the very start, much like women’s race winner Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado. He was pursued by a select group of top riders including Vanderputte, Iserbyt and Orts but never looked back.
Vandeputte attempted to go solo in the chase, as Sweeck raced off into the distance, with Iserbyt also coming across to form a two-man chase. Heading past the midway point of the race, Sweeck enjoyed a 20-second gap and was seemingly on course for a comfortable win.
Iserbyt had other ideas, however, leaving Vandeputte behind to venture off in pursuit on his own. He cut into Sweeck's lead, bringing the gap down to 15 seconds as the riders started lap seven of eight.
Both Sweeck and the men behind Iserbyt kept up the battle, as the leader continued into the final lap 15 seconds up. Behind, Vandeputte and Orts managed to make it back across to set up a three-man fight for second place.
Sweeck’s advantage waned as the battle raged behind him. He wouldn’t be caught, though his lead did fall under 10 seconds as Orts pushed the pace to drop his rivals and claim his best top-level result of the season.
Iserbyt, worn down by his big solo effort, dropped away in the latter stages of the race, leaving Vandeputte to claim the final spot on the podium.
Vandeputte, who was previously tied at the top of the Superprestige standings, now holds a solo lead at the top of the table with 39 points. Van der Haar is second at 36 points ahead of Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) on 33.
Results
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