World Champion Tom Pidcock finishes seventh to begin 'cross campaign
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Laurens Sweeck of Crelan-Fristads celebrates at finish line as race winner at Superprestige Merksplas 2022 (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
World Champion Thomas Pidcock of Ineos Grenadiers finishes seventh at Superprestige Merksplas(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Laurens Sweeck of Team Crelan-Fristads competes during the 36th Superprestige Merksplas(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
First cyclocross race of the season for Thomas Pidcock of Ineos Grenadiers(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Eli Iserbyt of Team Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Lars Van Der Haar of Team Baloise Trek Lions (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Laurens Sweeck holds off a charge from Lars van der Haar to win Superprestige Merksplas(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Laurens Sweeck of Crelan-Fristads celebrates his second Superprestige victory of the season(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Lars van der Haar of Baloise Trek Lions crosses the finish line on second place at Superprestige Merksplas(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Elite men's podium (L to R): Lars Van Der Haar of Team Baloise Trek Lions on second place, race winner Laurens Sweeck of Crelan-Fristads and Michael Vanthourenhout of Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal on third (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Race winner Laurens Sweeck of Crelan-Fristads celebrates at podium (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Laurens Sweeck of Crelan-Fristads on his solo ride to victory(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Laurens Sweeck took the lead on the first lap and rode alone to victory(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
A general view of elite men's field on course for Superprestige Merksplas(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Tom Pidcock warms up before Superprestige Merksplas 2022(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Lars van der Haar of Baloise Trek Lions warms up before a muddy edition of Superprestige Merksplas(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Ineos Grenadiers' Tom Pidcock checks out the muddy circuit before Superprestige Merksplas(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Michael Vanthourenhout of Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal contends with the sand(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Niels Vandeputte of Alpecin-Deceuninck rides the sand at Superprestige Merksplas(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Like many other elite men in the field, Kevin Kuhn of Tormans Cyclo Cross did not have a smooth line in the sand on Saturday(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Tom Pidcock of Ineos Grenadiers dismounts to run the sand at Superprestige Merksplas(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Smooth sailing on all eight laps for Laurens Sweeck in the sand(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Tom Pidcock of Ineos Grenadiers attends to the media after his top 10 finish at Superprestige Merksplas(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads) strengthened his Superprestige series lead for elite men with a masterful solo victory in Merksplas, Belgium on a cold Saturday.
He held the lead throughout the entirety of the eight-lap contest, holding a five-second advantage across the finish over Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions). European Champion Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) finished third.
2021 winner Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) finished fourth, with teammate Ryan Kamp in fifth. Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) placed sixth, one spot ahead of World Champion Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).
"I was able to make a difference right from the start without really having to push. That worked in my favor the whole game,” Sweeck told Wielerflits about his second consecutive Superprestige win on Saturday. "There were small mistakes, not big ones."
The trio of Sweeck, Iserbyt and Vandeputte opened a small gap on the first lap smoothly surfing through the long sand pit, Van der Haar the closest in the chase.
Falling off the pace right away were Vanthourenhout and Pidcock when Vanthourenhout fell onto the back wheel of Pidcock on a one of the short, twisty ditch section beyond the sand, with the British rider able to stay upright.
Sweeck, with two World Cup wins already this year, had finished third at Merksplas the past two years. This time around, he rode with confidence at the front of the race and opened a gap of 11 seconds over Iserbyt and Vandeputte and Van der Haar. Pidcock rode in the second chase group, another 10 seconds back.
There were a lot of moves on-and-off the bike in the muddy "Strawberry Cross" track by all the leaders, a classic ‘cross track in Belgium with varied terrain, bridges and the long sand section.
Pidcock changed bikes in pits on the third lap and on the next circuit had moved into fourth place. He said after the race that he picked a very challenging course for his return and did not have the smooth ride he wanted to contest for a podium finish.
“It was maybe not the best one to start with. In the corners, I was losing so much time,” said Pidcock, wearing the cyclocross rainbow stripes, covered in mud. “My level was OK, but I was losing time in a lot of places. Then I crashed, and then made a few too many mistakes. But I’m happy. It was not bad.”
Sweeck continued to hold his solo lead, Van der Haar holding his own with a 15-second deficit and barely keeping the leader in his sights. Vanthourenhout, Iserbyt, and Pidcock trailed, in that order, another 18 seconds as the race moved into the second half.
On the final circuit, Van der Haar and Iserbyt joined forces to try to close a 17-second gap to the lone leader, who showed no signs of faltering. Van der Haar was able to accelerate as Iserbyt suffered a few bobbles that created a gap he could not close back. But Sweeck charged cleanly through the sand yet again and used that time to hold off Van der Haar on the straightaway to the finish line.
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. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).
