European and Belgian champion Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) crushed her rivals at the inaugural UCI World Cup round in Lignières, France. The 25-year-old completed a long solo effort to win ahead of compatriot Ellen Van Loy (Young Telenet-Fidea) and Italian champion Eva Lechner (Luna Pro Team). Cant extended her lead in the World Cup standings over Lechner to 32 points.
“It wasn’t my best feeling. I had a good race. I just rode on my own so I didn’t have mistakes. It was a nice course. I’m happy that I could win. If I can train two more weeks really well, then maybe I can win in Zolder. I've worked the whole year for that. I hope I can win,” Cant said.
Cant got off to a great start, just behind Van Loy who managed the hole shot onto the fast, twisting course in the heart of France. Lechner briefly followed the two Belgian leaders, but once Cant took over the lead from Van Loy gaps started to emerge. By the end of the opening lap, Cant was three seconds ahead of Van Loy and she clearly wasn’t planning to wait for her. Lechner was trailing Cant by seven seconds, with Pavla Havlikova (MRM-Avalon) marking her wheel.
“I wanted to make the least possible mistakes while riding at the limit for most of the race. It’s been a while since I did that. Ellen rode really fast during the opening lap. Then I took a pull. It’s too bad Ellen wasn’t able to keep up. It would’ve been a good race with the two of us,” Cant told Telenet Play Sports.
The situation in front seemed decided as Cant kept riding away from Van Loy. Halfway through the second of five laps Lechner managed to ride away from Havlikova, but kept losing ground on the two Belgian riders in front. Havlikova faded back to a group featuring Sophie de Boer (Kalas-NNOF), Caroline Mani (Raleigh-Clément), Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team), and Kaitlon Antonneau (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com).
In the two final laps Cant cruised to a very convincing win, taking off her sunglasses before crossing the finish line, and cleaning off her white World Cup jersey which only showed a few mud spots. Lechner was closing in on Van Loy but the latter had something left in her tank for the final lap and held off the Italian rider. Van Loy clinched her fist multiple times as she captured a well-deserved second place. Lechner was third.
The home crowd was able to celebrate as fresh French champion Caroline Mani was able to win the battle for fourth place. She was high-fiving with her compatriots at the side of the road after reaching the finish. Kaitlin Antonneau was fifth, well ahead of De Boer, Wyman and Havlikova. Joyce Vanderbeken was a surprising ninth, just ahead of new British champion Nikki Harris (Boels Dolmans).
In the World Cup standings Cant now holds 282 points and Lechner 250 with only next week’s final World Cup round in Hoogerheide, Netherlands left to race. Van Loy moves up from fifth to third place with 205 points. Harris remains fourth with 184 points, which is 11 more than US champion Katie Compton (Trek Cyclocross Collective).
Compton was unable to profit from her front-row start position and quickly dropped out of the top 10. A crash in the second lap didn’t help, and she went on to finish on place 33 at 4:35 from winner Cant. She dropped from third to fifth in the World Cup standings. Husband Mark Legg sent a tweet during the race, stating that Compton was sick.
Full results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanne Cant (Bel) | 0:44:03 |
| 2 | Ellen Van Loy (Bel) | 0:00:21 |
| 3 | Eva Lechner (Ita) | 0:00:24 |
| 4 | Caroline Mani (Fra) | 0:00:43 |
| 5 | Kaitlin Antonneau (USA) Twenty16 - Ridebiker | 0:00:49 |
| 6 | Sophie De Boer (Ned) | 0:00:55 |
| 7 | Helen Wyman (GBr) | 0:01:07 |
| 8 | Pavla Havlikova (Cze) | 0:01:15 |
| 9 | Joyce Vanderbeken (Bel) | 0:01:20 |
| 10 | Nikki Harris (GBr) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team | 0:01:23 |
| 11 | Chiara Teocchi (Ita) | 0:01:28 |
| 12 | Christine Majerus (Lux) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team | 0:01:39 |
| 13 | Femke Van Den Driessche (Bel) | 0:01:44 |
| 14 | Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ita) Lensworld-Zannata | 0:01:54 |
| 15 | Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) | 0:01:59 |
| 16 | Nikola Noskova (Cze) | 0:02:04 |
| 17 | Maud Kaptheijns (Ned) | 0:02:10 |
| 18 | Mical Dyck (Can) | 0:02:36 |
| 19 | Elle Anderson (USA) Rally Cycling | 0:02:44 |
| 20 | Laura Verdonschot (Bel) | 0:02:50 |
| 21 | Karen Verhestraeten (Bel) | 0:02:57 |
| 22 | Loes Sels (Bel) | 0:03:01 |
| 23 | Aida Nuno Palacio (Spa) | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
| 24 | Nadja Heigl (Aut) | 0:03:13 |
| 25 | Maelle Grossetete (Fra) | 0:03:40 |
| 26 | Hannah Payton (GBr) Drops Cycling Team | 0:03:58 |
| 27 | Juliette Labous (Fra) | 0:04:06 |
| 28 | Amanda Nauman (USA) | 0:04:09 |
| 29 | Alicia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Lointek | 0:04:10 |
| 30 | Lucia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Lointek | 0:04:14 |
| 31 | Bianca Van Den Hoek (Ned) | 0:04:15 |
| 32 | Anais Morichon (Fra) | 0:04:20 |
| 33 | Katherine Compton (USA) Trek | 0:04:35 |
| 34 | Lise-Marie Henzelin (Swi) | 0:04:40 |
| 35 | Lisa Jacobs (Aus) | 0:04:44 |
| 36 | Evita Muzic (Fra) | 0:04:47 |
| 37 | Esmee Oosterman (Ned) | 0:05:15 |
| 38 | Gaelle Carreau (Fra) | 0:05:22 |
| 39 | Kathryn Cumming (USA) | 0:05:23 |
| 40 | Olatz Odriozola Mujika (Spa) | 0:05:38 |
| 41 | Margriet Helena Kloppenburg (Den) Team Bms Birn | 0:06:04 |
| 42 | Lizzy Witlox (Ned) | 0:06:23 |
| 43 | Denisa Lukesova (Cze) | 0:07:36 |
| 44 | Cyriane Muller (Fra) | 0:07:46 |
| 45 | Suzie Godart (Lux) | 0:08:19 |
| 46 | Karla Kortazar Unzaga (Spa) | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
| 47 | Monica Carrascosa (Spa) | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanne Cant (Bel) | 282 | pts |
| 2 | Eva Lechner (Ita) | 250 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Ellen Van Loy (Bel) | 205 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Nikki Harris (GBr) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team | 184 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Katherine Compton (USA) | 173 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Pavla Havlikova (Cze) | 161 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Helen Wyman (GBr) | 146 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Caroline Mani (Fra) | 141 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Kaitlin Antonneau (USA) Twenty16 - Ridebiker | 137 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Sophie De Boer (Ned) | 125 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Sanne Van Paassen (Ned) | 108 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Loes Sels (Bel) | 88 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Maud Kaptheijns (Ned) | 87 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Jolien Verschueren (Bel) | 82 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Amanda Miller (USA) Visit Dallas Dna Pro Cycling | 72 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Femke Van Den Driessche (Bel) | 67 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ita) Lensworld-Zannata | 64 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Katerina Nash (Cze) | 60 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | Thalita De Jong (Ned) Raboliv Women Cycling Team | 58 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Aida Nuno Palacio (Spa) | 55 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| 21 | Crystal Anthony (USA) | 49 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
| 22 | Christine Majerus (Lux) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team | 49 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
| 23 | Chiara Teocchi (Ita) | 45 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
| 24 | Sabrina Stultiens (Ned) Team Liv-Plantur | 43 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
| 25 | Ellen Noble (USA) | 42 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
| 26 | Georgia Gould (USA) | 40 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
| 27 | Joyce Vanderbeken (Bel) | 36 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
| 28 | Nikola Noskova (Cze) | 36 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
| 29 | Catharine Pendrel (Can) | 35 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
| 30 | Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) | 33 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
| 31 | Meredith Miller (USA) | 32 | Row 30 - Cell 3 |
| 32 | Karen Verhestraeten (Bel) | 32 | Row 31 - Cell 3 |
| 33 | Hannah Payton (GBr) Drops Cycling Team | 30 | Row 32 - Cell 3 |
| 34 | Laura Verdonschot (Bel) | 29 | Row 33 - Cell 3 |
| 35 | Maghalie Rochette (Can) | 24 | Row 34 - Cell 3 |
| 36 | Courtenay Mcfadden (USA) | 21 | Row 35 - Cell 3 |
| 37 | Lucia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Lointek | 21 | Row 36 - Cell 3 |
| 38 | Nadja Heigl (Aut) | 21 | Row 37 - Cell 3 |
| 39 | Maelle Grossetete (Fra) | 17 | Row 38 - Cell 3 |
| 40 | Mical Dyck (Can) | 16 | Row 39 - Cell 3 |
| 41 | Juliette Labous (Fra) | 16 | Row 40 - Cell 3 |
| 42 | Martina Mikulaskova (Cze) | 14 | Row 41 - Cell 3 |
| 43 | Bethany Crumpton (GBr) | 14 | Row 42 - Cell 3 |
| 44 | Sunny Gilbert (USA) | 14 | Row 43 - Cell 3 |
| 45 | Jana Czeczinkarova (Cze) | 13 | Row 44 - Cell 3 |
| 46 | Rachel Lloyd (USA) | 13 | Row 45 - Cell 3 |
| 47 | Elle Anderson (USA) Rally Cycling | 12 | Row 46 - Cell 3 |
| 48 | Jessica Lambracht (Ger) | 12 | Row 47 - Cell 3 |
| 49 | Emma White (USA) Rally Cycling | 12 | Row 48 - Cell 3 |
| 50 | Lise-Marie Henzelin (Swi) | 10 | Row 49 - Cell 3 |
| 51 | Erica Zaveta (USA) Cylance Pro Cycling | 10 | Row 50 - Cell 3 |
| 52 | Lisa Jacobs (Aus) | 9 | Row 51 - Cell 3 |
| 53 | Esmee Oosterman (Ned) | 8 | Row 52 - Cell 3 |
| 54 | Lizzy Witlox (Ned) | 8 | Row 53 - Cell 3 |
| 55 | Bianca Van Den Hoek (Ned) | 7 | Row 54 - Cell 3 |
| 56 | Janka Keseg Stevkova (Svk) | 7 | Row 55 - Cell 3 |
| 57 | Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (Fra) | 7 | Row 56 - Cell 3 |
| 58 | Marlene Petit (Fra) | 6 | Row 57 - Cell 3 |
| 59 | Yara Kastelijn (Ned) Raboliv Women Cycling Team | 5 | Row 58 - Cell 3 |
| 60 | Carolina Gomez (Arg) | 5 | Row 59 - Cell 3 |
| 61 | Amira Mellor (GBr) | 4 | Row 60 - Cell 3 |
| 62 | Amanda Nauman (USA) | 3 | Row 61 - Cell 3 |
| 63 | Margriet Helena Kloppenburg (Den) Team Bms Birn | 3 | Row 62 - Cell 3 |
| 64 | Inge Van Der Heijden (Ned) | 3 | Row 63 - Cell 3 |
| 65 | Alicia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Lointek | 2 | Row 64 - Cell 3 |
| 66 | Marlene Morel Petitgirard (Fra) | 2 | Row 65 - Cell 3 |
| 67 | Cassandra Maximenko (USA) | 2 | Row 66 - Cell 3 |
| 68 | Laure Bouteloup (Fra) | 1 | Row 67 - Cell 3 |
| 69 | Olivia Hottinger (Swi) | 1 | Row 68 - Cell 3 |
| 70 | Arley Kemmerer (USA) | 1 | Row 69 - Cell 3 |
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