X2O Trofee Brussels: Michael Vanthourenhout wins tight battle against Joris Nieuwenhuis

Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines) won a head-to-head battle against Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley Racing Team), the Belgian crossing the line at Brussels Universities Cyclocross eight seconds ahead of his Dutch adversary at the final X2O Trofee race of the season. 

Lars van der Haar (Baloise Glowi) rolled across the line in Brussels 41 seconds later for third.

Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines) finished 1:07 off the pace for fourth, having worked back through some riders after suffering a flat tyre earlier in the race. 

The Belgian won the X2O Trofee series title for a fourth time on Sunday. 

Series runner-up, Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens-FSP), suffered a heavy crash in the mud near the pits early in the race, taking a long time to remount his bike, and was not able to contest Iserbyt in the standings, finishing seventh in Brussels.

Vanthourenhout, the UCI World Cup winner, was the first to make a move at the front of the nine-lap race. Nieuwenhuis soon tagged along the duo held a 10-second lead over Van der Haar on the middle laps. 

Vanthourenhout gained an edge through a series of tight turns on the last half of the final lap, but could not drop Nieuwenhuis. Then with a final acceleration on flat, power section before bumpy off-camber sections, he put in huge daylight between the pair and rode to victory.

"On the off-camber section I tried to go full gas and it was enough to win," Vanthourenhout summarised at the finish.

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