World Cup Dendermonde: Ronhaar surprises with first UCI World Cup victory

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Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions) scored the first elite UCI World Cup victory of his career in Dendermonde on Sunday, the 22-year-old soloing home through the mud to the win in what is only his second year racing at the top level.

The Dutchman crossed the line alone to lead home a Baloise Trek Lions one-two at 16 seconds up on teammate Lars van der Haar, while Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) rounded out the podium in third at 27 seconds. Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) took fourth a further six seconds back.

"This victory means a lot to me, especially after Koppenbergcross," Ronhaar said after the race, according to WielerFlits. "I felt so bad then. I had barely three days to reset mentally for the European Championships. I rode a good race there."

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"I was told to do nothing in the first few laps. I actually had to hold back even longer from the team, but I felt so good. I was on the right track and decided to go full to see what would happen."

"Bad races aren't good for confidence, but you just have to stay positive. Then the rest will come naturally."

Having not won at elite level before, Ronhaar wasn’t among the top favourites at the start of the day. However, with several big-name absences, including Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions) and Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), there was a wide-open field for victory.

It was Toon Vandebosch (Crelan-Corendon) who flew out of the traps early on to take the lead after finishing a strong fifth at Saturday’s Superprestige round in Niel. He pushed on at the front with Iserbyt his closest follower, six seconds down at the end of the opening lap.

Briton Cameron Mason (Cyclocross Reds) endured a horrible start a week on from his silver medal at the European Championships, coming together with another rider at the start and breaking spokes in his front wheel.

He was forced to run almost straight away before eventually recovering to finish in 11th place, a minute down.

Up front, Ronhaar continued his ride alone as Sweeck and Vandebosch led the chase behind. Van der Haar joined them in the group, though bringing back the leader never looked a likely prospect.

Instead, the battle raged over the remaining podium spots as Ronhaar raced on with a lead of half a minute. As Vandebosch dropped out of contention, it was up to Van der Haar, free to make a move of his own, to go clear in second on the final lap.
He left behind Sweeck in third place, while Iserbyt in fourth never quite got close enough to enter the podium fight.

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