Belgian wins on home ground in Namur as Van der Haar and Sweeck round out podium
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Michael Vanthourenhout celebrates his victory in Namur(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
The final podium – Vanthourenhout, Van der Haar, and Sweeck(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
The riders during the opening stages of the race(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Riders race through the mud in the opening laps(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Vanthourenhout and Lars van der Haar go clear of the field(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
The home crowds watch their man Vanthourenhout (Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Lars van der Haar in pursuit of Vanthourenhout(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Laurens Sweeck racing to third place(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Vanthourenhout left Van der Haar behind to go solo to victory(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Van der Haar continued on to finish with a silver medal(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Vanthourenhout late on in the race(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
He delivered a rainbow jersey for the home crowds in Belgium(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Confetti for new European champion Vanthourenhout at the finish(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Michael Vanthourenhout showcased his strength across a rain-soaked technical circuit and, in front of cheering home crowds, won the elite men's title at the UEC European Cyclo-cross Championships on home ground in Namur, Belgium, on Sunday.
Vanthourenhout won what turned out to be a clear battle between two riders, marred by many crashes, but won by 40 seconds ahead of defending champion Lars van der Haar (Netherlands), while Vanthourenhout's teammate Laurens Sweeck (Belgium) finished in third place at 2:17 back.
Dismounting his bike to lift it above his head after crossing the finish line, Vanthourenhout met his family and team to celebrate the championships victory on a day where strength, skill and luck, in equal measure, played a role in his success.
"It was a very tough and one of the hardest races I've ever raced," Vanthourenhout said. "I felt that my legs were very good, but on the second and third laps, I made mistakes, and it was hard to catch Lars.
"I pushed the whole race, and Lars made a lot of mistakes. I was stronger in the technical sections, so I loved the race
"It means a lot. I had never raced in a jersey in the elite category, this is the biggest victory of my life. It is beautiful."
How it unfolded
Eli Iserbyt (Belgium) got the best start along the cobbles, onto the gravel and into the first main climb of the circuit. The field was lined out on the rooted and rocky descent, Iserbyt pushing a quick pace and setting the tone for the day's championship race. The Belgian was followed quickly by van der Haar and Kevin Kuhn (Switzerland).
Light rain overnight and throughout the day added a slippery sheen to the technical off-camber straightaways and challenging climbs and descents across the circuit, which made for treacherous racing.
Iserbyt's chain dropped at least three times along the off-camber straightaway, and as he struggled with the mechanical. He was forced off his bike to run, losing valuable seconds on the first lap.
Van der Haar, in contrast, rode a flawless opening lap, shouldering his bike through any tricky sections as needed and over the climbs and run-ups. He pushed his lead out to seven seconds on the first chaser, Vanthourenhout, 13 seconds to Kuhn, and then 18 seconds to Belgians Quinten Hermans and Sweeck, with Iserbyt losing 23 seconds.
Van der Haar's momentum came to an early end when he crashed through the deep grooves that cut through the circuit's featured tricky descent. Vanthourenhout quickly decided to get off his bike and run down that section of terrain to close the gap to van der Haar.
Vanthourenhout then moved into the lead. It appeared that van der Haar regained his composure while racing just off the back of the Belgian's back wheel. Still, Vanthourenhout put additional pressure on his rival on the final uphill and into the third lap just as Van der Haar waved to his mechanics in the pit to signal that he needed a lower tire pressure to handle the slippery circuit under the rain better.
Van der Haar took a bike change and looked to be in better control, but bad luck struck again when he and Vanthourenhout crashed on the same tricky descent. Behind them, Sweeck and Hermans went down in the same spot.
Van der Haar once again pushed his lead to nine seconds on Vanthourenhout at the start of the fourth lap, with Sweeck at 19 back and Hermans at 35 seconds back.
Iserbyt's race went from bad to worse as he raced in last place at over a minute down before a crash forced him to abandon altogether.
It took five laps for the race to settle into somewhat of a rhythm. Van der Haar maintained nine seconds on Vanthourenhout; however, a front flat tyre slowed the Dutchman through the corners, and he lost that slim lead on the way to the pits for a new bike.
The battle for the title was clearly between Vanthourenhout and van der Haar as Sweeck maintained his third place on the circuit over a minute back.
Van der Haar's final undoing happened when he crashed along a right-hand turn on a descent and into the fencing, which was all Vanthourenhout needed to make his winning move and push his lead out to 14 seconds at the start of the sixth lap.
Vanthourenhout powered up the hills with a morale boost knowing that he had won at this venue at the World Cup in 2021. He gradually opened his lead to between 17 and 19 seconds, buoyed by the cheers from local fans over the final two laps.
Van der Haar appeared to mount a comeback, but another crash saw him land on his back, and the gap to Vanthourenhout blew back out to 24 seconds.
Vanthourenhout continued a perfect ride on the penultimate circuit with a 41-second lead and he carried that into a solo victory to win his first elite men's title at the European Championships.
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
