Daan Soete wins men's Trek CX Cup

Daan Soete (Deschacht-Group Hens-Containers) won the elite men's C2 race at the Trek CX Cup on Friday in Waterloo, Wisconsin. The Belgian dropped all contenders after the first lap to win the 10-lap race with 39 seconds to spare over runner-up Thijs Aerts (Baloise Trek Lions). Closing at a fierce pace was third-place finisher Kerry Werner, who was four seconds behind Aerts.

“I was happy I put a water bottle on my bike. It was very warm especially when you are racing for a bit. I had a gap soon, but then I tried to extend it and take a little gas back," Soete said after the race. 

“Sunday is going to be even harder. The course is more difficult and the field also.”

The C2-level event is an opener to the kick off of the UCI Cyco-cross World Cup series that starts in Waterloo on Sunday. Soete went away on the first lap and never looked back, with Aerts having no real challenges for the second spot until the closing 100 metres.

The battle for the final podium spot saw Werner battling for much of the race with Michael van den Ham and Tobin Ortenblad. With four laps to go they disposed of Stephen Hyde, who was trying to tag along, but Van den Ham was at the front of the small group and riding strong.

Then on the final lap, Werner made his move over the barriers to gain a gap over Van den Ham and Ortenblad.

“Van den Ham was just hitting the power sections, like the wide open sections super hard, and he was pulling the accordion way wide. But he was running the barriers every lap and we would always make about a bike length on him," Werner said about the battle for third place. 

"So coming into the final lap, I knew that if I could make it to the Factory Hill first and not mess it up, then that was the ‘winning’ move. So at the barriers I gave it some juice and held it right until I got to the Factory Hill. I rode it clean and that was it."

Werner closed much of the gap that was held by Aerts, but settled for third in the closing straightaway of the finish line.