De Boer wins in the Hoogerheide mud

Sophie De Boer (Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team) was third

Sophie De Boer (Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team) was third (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

The final round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Hoogerheide, Netherlands turned out to be a sloppy mudfest. It proved to be the perfect terrain for Dutch rider Sophie de Boer (Kalas-NNOF), who rode to her first-ever World Cup victory. The 25-year-old completed the race solo. She finished 35 seconds ahead of Dutch champion Talitha de Jong (RaboLiv Women Cycling Team) and British champion Nikki Harris (Boels Dolmans Cycling Team).

“It’s indescribable. I’m really happy that I could win today. Last week I felt really strong. It’s a course I really like. It’s heavy: a slow course with a lot of mud. I felt really great. It’s incredible I could win,” De Boer said in the post-race flash interview.

Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) briefly featured in front with De Boer and Harris but she struggled hard in the extremely muddy section on a talus at the end of each long lap. She was unable to pose a threat to De Boer but her fifth place was more than enough to secure the overall victory in the World Cup. Cant finished ahead of her last rival Eva Lechner (Luna Pro Team) who finished eighth in the sludge of Hoogerheide.

“I haven’t worked towards these types of courses. This was a power course and that clearly wasn’t my thing. I’ve got this classification in the pocket and I’ll probably win the other two [Superprestige and Bpost Bank Trophy] as well. Next week I don’t have to rescue my season,” Cant told Telenet Play Sports.

De Boer impressed during the opening lap and briefly rode away in the mud. De Jong and Harris were the only riders who managed to bridge back up. Early on in the second of four laps, De Boer once again opened up a gap on the two national champions and this time she continuously extended her lead. “I couldn’t believe it. I had a really good start. I had a little gap but didn’t want to start too fast. The first lap I wasn’t riding 100 per cent. Then I saw after the first lap I still had a gap. Then I gave it all and was able to extend the gap,” De Boer explained on Telenet Play Sports.

Behind De Boer it was clear that 22-year-old De Jong and Harris were each other’s match although Cant was continuously trying to keep the duo in sight. At the end of the third lap De Jong was riding at the edge of the course in the deep-mud section on the talus when she hooked into the barriers with her brake lever. Suddenly Harris was alone in second place at half a minute from De Boer. De Jong didn’t give up and quickly fought back on the uphill road to the finish, trailing 29-year-old Harris by four seconds.

Cant was only five seconds further back. French champion Caroline Mani (Raleigh-Clément) were together in fifth place with Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team) at 55 seconds. Lechner was unable to build on her good start and kept losing ground in the mud. She was more than a minute behind De Boer with a vivid Jolien Verschueren (Young Telenet-Fidea).

In the final lap De Boer went even faster than she already did and she managed a more than deserved first World Cup victory after a difficult start to the season due to illness. De Jong quickly bridged back up with Harris. Cant faded back and the Belgian champion suddenly had Mani on her wheel.

The battle for second place was a close one with Harris opting to stay on the wheel of De Jong for most of the final lap. Just before hitting the uphill finishing straight De Jong had a gap and with a very powerful sprint she held off the return of Harris. Mani rode away from Cant and took fourth place. Verschueren continued her comeback race and overtook Wyman at the end of the race, finishing sixth. Lechner rode alone in eighth place, well ahead of Christine Majerus (Boels Dolmans Womencyclingteam) and Sabrina Stultiens (Team Liv-Plantur).

Ellen Van Loy (Young Telenet-Fidea) lost her third spot in the World Cup standings to Harris as she only managed an eleventh place in Hoogerheide. She was unable to fight back after Maud Kaptheijns blocked her path early on in the opening lap. Just like in the World Cup standings US-champion Katie Compton (Trek Cyclocross Collective) finished right behind Van Loy.

Compton had a disastrous start in Hoogerheide, missing her pedal which was extremely costly on the uphill start. Compton finished fifth in the World Cup and 12th in Hoogerheide. Sophie de Boer had a poor start to World Cup season in CrossVegas, finishing 25th. She skipped the Valkenburg World Cup round in her home country to recover. During the five following World Cup rounds she cracked the top 10, with Hoogerheide as icing on the cake.

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sophie De Boer (Ned)0:40:30
2Thalita De Jong (Ned)0:00:35
3Nikki Harris (GBr)0:00:38
4Caroline Mani (Fra)0:01:01
5Sanne Cant (Bel)0:01:06
6Jolien Verschueren (Bel)0:01:09
7Helen Wyman (GBr)0:01:11
8Eva Lechner (Ita)0:01:33
9Christine Majerus (Lux)0:01:49
10Sabrina Stultiens (Ned)0:02:01
11Ellen Van Loy (Bel)0:02:21
12Katherine Compton (USA)0:02:29
13Loes Sels (Bel)0:02:39
14Kaitlin Antonneau (USA)0:02:49
15Femke Van Den Driessche (Bel)0:02:58
16Elle Anderson (USA)0:03:01
17Pavla Havlikova (Cze)0:03:03
18Sanne Van Paassen (Ned)0:03:08
19Maud Kaptheijns (Ned)0:03:10
20Juliette Labous (Fra)0:03:12
21Elisabeth Brandau (Ger)0:03:14
22Chiara Teocchi (Ita)0:03:28
23Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ita)0:03:48
24Mical Dyck (Can)0:03:53
25Nikola Noskova (Cze)0:04:01
26Meredith Miller (USA)0:04:09
27Joyce Vanderbeken (Bel)0:04:15
28Bethany Crumpton (GBr)0:04:16
29Laura Verdonschot (Bel)0:04:20
30Aida Nuno Palacio (Spa)0:04:26
31Amanda Miller (USA)0:04:32
32Hannah Payton (GBr)0:04:36
33Nadja Heigl (Aut)0:05:05
34Amanda Nauman (USA)0:05:11
35Maëlle Grossetete (Fra)Row 34 - Cell 2
36Lucia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa)0:05:30
37Esmee Oosterman (Ned)0:05:36
38Asa Maria Erlandsson (Swe)Row 37 - Cell 2
39Sara Casasola (Ita)0:05:37
40Martina Mikulaskova (Cze)0:05:48
41Fleur Nagengast (Ned)0:05:56
42Karen Verhestraeten (Bel)0:06:03
43Lizzy Witlox (Ned)0:06:10
44Janka Keseg Stevkova (Svk)0:06:32
45Jessica Lambracht (Ger)0:06:44
46Lisa Jacobs (Aus)0:06:45
47Courtenay Mcfadden (USA)0:06:46
48Mercedes Pacios Pujado (Spa)0:06:56
49Ellen Noble (USA)0:07:10
50Évita Muzic (Fra)0:07:38
51Alicia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa)0:07:57
52Denisa Lukesova (Cze)0:08:02
53Angelica Edvardsson (Swe)0:08:41
54Therese Rhodes (Aus)0:09:19
55Tiril Mohr (Nor)0:09:22
56Edie Antonia Rees (Lux)0:09:36
57Francesca Baroni (Ita)0:09:44
58Suzie Godart (Lux)0:09:45
59Elena Valentini (Ita)0:10:09
60Ruby West (Can)Row 59 - Cell 2
61Natalie Redmond (Aus)0:10:46
62Stacey Riedel (Aus)-1 Lap
63Mara Schwager (Ger)Row 62 - Cell 2
64Josie Simpson (Aus)Row 63 - Cell 2
65Maggie Coles-Lyster (Can)Row 64 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
World Cup - Final
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Sanne Cant (Bel)317pts
2Eva Lechner (Ita)276Row 1 - Cell 3
3Nikki Harris (GBr) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam229Row 2 - Cell 3
4Ellen Van Loy (Bel)225Row 3 - Cell 3
5Katherine Compton (USA)192Row 4 - Cell 3
6Sophie De Boer (Ned)185Row 5 - Cell 3
7Caroline Mani (Fra)181Row 6 - Cell 3
8Pavla Havlikova (Cze)175Row 7 - Cell 3
9Helen Wyman (GBr)174Row 8 - Cell 3
10Kaitlin Antonneau (USA) Twenty16 - Ridebiker154Row 9 - Cell 3
11Sanne Van Paassen (Ned)121Row 10 - Cell 3
12Jolien Verschueren (Bel)112Row 11 - Cell 3
13Thalita De Jong (Ned) Raboliv Womencyclingteam108Row 12 - Cell 3
14Loes Sels (Bel)106Row 13 - Cell 3
15Maud Kaptheijns (Ned)99Row 14 - Cell 3
16Femke Van Den Driessche (Bel)83Row 15 - Cell 3
17Christine Majerus (Lux) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam73Row 16 - Cell 3
18Amanda Miller (USA) Visit Dallas Dna Pro Cycling72Row 17 - Cell 3
19Alice Arzuffi (Ita) Lensworld-Zannata72Row 18 - Cell 3
20Sabrina Stultiens (Ned) Team Liv-Plantur65Row 19 - Cell 3
21Katerina Nash (Cze)60Row 20 - Cell 3
22Aida Nuno Palacio (Spa)56Row 21 - Cell 3
23Chiara Teocchi (Ita)54Row 22 - Cell 3
24Crystal Anthony (USA)49Row 23 - Cell 3
25Elisabeth Brandau (Ger)43Row 24 - Cell 3
26Ellen Noble (USA)42Row 25 - Cell 3
27Nikola Noskova (Cze)42Row 26 - Cell 3
28Georgia Gould (USA)40Row 27 - Cell 3
29Joyce Vanderbeken (Bel)40Row 28 - Cell 3
30Meredith Miller (USA)37Row 29 - Cell 3
31Catharine Pendrel (Can)35Row 30 - Cell 3
32Karen Verhestraeten (Bel)32Row 31 - Cell 3
33Laura Verdonschot (Bel)31Row 32 - Cell 3
34Hannah Payton (GBr) Drops Cycling Team30Row 33 - Cell 3
35Elle Anderson (USA) Rally Cycling27Row 34 - Cell 3
36Juliette Labous (Fra)27Row 35 - Cell 3
37Maghalie Rochette (Can)24Row 36 - Cell 3
38Mical Dyck (Can)23Row 37 - Cell 3
39Courtenay Mcfadden (USA)21Row 38 - Cell 3
40Lucia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Lointek21Row 39 - Cell 3
41Nadja Heigl (Aut)21Row 40 - Cell 3
42Bethany Crumpton (GBr)17Row 41 - Cell 3
43Maelle Grossetete (Fra)17Row 42 - Cell 3
44Martina Mikulaskova (Cze)14Row 43 - Cell 3
45Sunny Gilbert (USA)14Row 44 - Cell 3
46Jana Czeczinkarova (Cze)13Row 45 - Cell 3
47Rachel Lloyd (USA)13Row 46 - Cell 3
48Jessica Lambracht (Ger)12Row 47 - Cell 3
49Emma White (USA) Rally Cycling12Row 48 - Cell 3
50Lise-Marie Henzelin (Swi)10Row 49 - Cell 3
51Erica Zaveta (USA) Cylance Pro Cycling10Row 50 - Cell 3
52Lisa Jacobs (Aus)9Row 51 - Cell 3
53Esmee Oosterman (Ned)8Row 52 - Cell 3
54Lizzy Witlox (Ned)8Row 53 - Cell 3
55Bianca Van Den Hoek (Ned)7Row 54 - Cell 3
56Janka Keseg Stevkova (Svk)7Row 55 - Cell 3
57Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (Fra)7Row 56 - Cell 3
58Marlene Petit (Fra)6Row 57 - Cell 3
59Yara Kastelijn (Ned) Raboliv Womencyclingteam5Row 58 - Cell 3
60Carolina Gomez (Arg)5Row 59 - Cell 3
61Amira Mellor (GBr)4Row 60 - Cell 3
62Amanda Nauman (USA)3Row 61 - Cell 3
63Margriet Kloppenburg (Den) Team Bms Birn3Row 62 - Cell 3
64Inge Van Der Heijden (Ned)3Row 63 - Cell 3
65Alicia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Lointek2Row 64 - Cell 3
66Marlene Morel Petitgirard (Fra)2Row 65 - Cell 3
67Cassandra Maximenko (USA)2Row 66 - Cell 3
68Laure Bouteloup (Fra)1Row 67 - Cell 3
69Olivia Hottinger (Swi)1Row 68 - Cell 3
70Arley Kemmerer (USA)1Row 69 - Cell 3

 

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