Van der Haar repeats with Zolder World Cup win

With an impressive long solo ride, Dutch champion Lars van der Haar (Giant-Shimano) repeated last year’s World Cup victory in Heusden-Zolder. In 2013 he won out of a large lead group, while this time around he completed a long solo ride to win the fifth World Cup round. 

On a chilly Boxing Day afternoon, the 23 year-old Dutch champion grabbed his second win of the season with a 45 second margin on World Cup leader Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) despite a late dropped chain.

“For me it was a beautiful victory,” Van der Haar told Sporza. “I’ve been in good shape again but I just needed a bit of luck to finish it off. In the last races every time something happened. I thought it happened again with my chain. In the end I was strong enough to hold it off.”

The former F1 car racing circuit in Heusden-Zolder will also be the location for the 2016 UCI cyclo-cross world championships.

Pauwels enjoys a massive 80-point lead in the World Cup classification, but the Belgian rider still has to finish next month’s final World Cup round to be sure of the overall victory.

“He was just better than me today. [...] I’m second which isn’t bad so I’m pleased with that,” Pauwels said.

Corné van Kessel (Telenet-Fidea) was best of the rest, winning the battle for third place in the sprint from Swiss champion Julien Taramarcaz (Corendon-Kwadro), who rode his best race of the season.

“I think I got the most out of it,” Van Kessel said. “I’m pleased. Early on I was not taking the initiative. On a course like this with a lot of interval that’s the way to do it. It’s an important result for the team.”

During the first two laps it seemed like last year’s scenario was being followed, with a large lead group staying together for most of the race. Van der Haar was always paying attention at the front, with Pauwels keeping the Dutchman in sight. Things turned around at the end of the second lap. Van der Haar accelerated and five riders joined him in the lead. Nobody was willing to share the work with the Dutch champion on the asphalt of the car racing circuit, crossing the finish line to start the third lap.

Instead of sitting back, Van der Haar accelerated fiercely on the asphalt.

“There was an opportunity when Kevin was a little behind,” Van der Haar said. “I thought they would come back but they didn’t do anything. That’s when I thought: let’s try it with a real attack. I don’t do it often.”

Van der Haar's winning move followed a stalemate in the leading group, with Pauwels, Van Kessel, Julien Taramarcaz (Corenson-KwadrO), German champion Philipp Walsleben and his BKCP-Powerplus teammate David van der Poel marking each other closely. Walsleben tried to shake things up but couldn't get a gap, but when van der Haar countered, nobody could follow.

Pauwels didn’t seem to want to chase, the rest were unable or didn’t dare to chase. In no time, Van der Haar collected a gap of 15 seconds over the first chasers where Pauwels switched bikes.

“I made a mistake,” Pauwels said. “My brake was touching my rear wheel and I didn’t dare to switch bikes before because it was going so fast. That’s why I was riding at the back of the group. I should have been more to the front.”

There was a counter-attack from Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) with David van der Poel (BKCP-Powerplus), but Meeusen blew his engine, eventually finishing only 17th and dropping from second to fifth in the World Cup standings.

“I tried my best but it wasn’t good,” Meeusen told Sporza. “I expected a lot and the warm-up was good but after one acceleration it was over. I’m only human too."

As he crossed the finish line on the long straight line, Van der Haar saw that Pauwels was still a long way back. The gap was back down to 23 seconds but that grew in the two closing laps. Van der Haar tried to please the crowd with a shy attempt at a Sagan-like wheelie before crossing the line with a loud-out shout. Pauwels quietly rolled across the line in second place at 45 seconds.

Van Kessel won a long sprint for third place ahead of a disappointed Taramarcaz. The duo got rid of the BKCP duo of Philipp Walsleben and David van der Poel in the final lap. Young Gianni Vermeersch (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) won the sprint for seventh place at short distance. US champion Jeremy Powers finished 18th, just behind Tom Meeusen.

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