Kaptheijns stormed away on the opening lap and completed a race-long solo. Compatriot Sophie de Boer (Breepark.nl) finished as runner-up at 52 seconds, while world champion Sanne Cant (Beobank-Corendon) won the sprint for third place at 1:27.
“This is my first World Cup win so I’m very happy. Before the race I wasn’t confident that I could win here," Kaptheijns said in the post-race flash interview. "I know when I start really fast that I can ride through the sand. It’s only in the sand sections that I went really hard. I hope that I can be up there every weekend.”
Kaptheijns managed the hole shot in Koksijde and then bided her time. She was briefly passed by fast starters Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team) and Lucinda Brand (Team Sunweb). In the descent of the Herygers-dune, Kaptheijns surged forward. Sophie de Boer and Kaitlin Keough (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) briefly managed to keep up.
Halfway through the opening lap, Kaptheijns hammered up the Albert-dune. The young Dutch ace rode up the dune, where all the chasers were forced, or opted to run up the climb. Kaptheijns opened up a gap on De Boer that grew up to 10 seconds at the first passage of the finish line. From there, the gap kept increasing as Kaptheijns was in total control in Koksijde, not making any mistakes. De Boer skipped last weekend’s racing due to illness and was unable to match Kaptheijns. Nevertheless, she was never threatened for second place as Keough faded back.
Cant battled for third place with Pan-American champion Katherine Compton and Loes Sels (Crelan-Charles). Compton got stuck in the sand just before hitting the final lap and she had to let go of Cant. A few moments later, Sels powered towards Cant. The two Belgians exchanged accelerations but in the final sand section Cant managed to distance Sels.
Thanks to her third place on home soil and due to the absence of previous World Cup leader Katerina Nash, Cant moves into the Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup lead with 210 points. Sophie de Boer trails her by 20 points.
American rider Kaitlin Keough reached out to the World Cup lead early on but the countless sand sections took their toll on the light rider. Keough faded in the second half of the race, dropping from third place to eighth at the finish. She’s now third overall at 24 points from Cant.
Compton narrowly held off Lucinda Brand in the sprint for fifth place. Helen Wyman won the battle for seventh place ahead of Keough, Nikki Brammeier (Boels Dolmans) and Pavla Havlikova. MTB-specialist Jolanda Neff (Kross Racing Team) made her debut in Koksijde. She battled for a top-10 result but eventually settled for fourteenth place.
The next World Cup round is held next month in Bogense, Denmark on November 19.
