Van Aert solos to victory in Zilvermeercross

Wout Van Aert (Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team) took a solo victory at the UCI C2 Zilvermeercross held in Belgium on Sunday. Laurens Sweeck (Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team) rode in alone for second place, leaving third place to Tom Meeusen (Telenet Fidea Cycling Team).

Sweeck put forth an impressive performance as he led the race mid-way, and showed his strength when he opened a small gap through the sand pit ahead of a small group of chasers that included Van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel (BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team), Meeusen and Corné Van Kessel (Telenet Fidea Cycling Team), Rob Peeters (Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team), Philipp Walsleben (BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team) and Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team).

Van Aert led the chase and brought Sweeck back into the mix. On the next lap Van Aert tried to distance himself from the others with little success.

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Meeusen was the only rider to hop the barriers through the sand, skills that came in handy as he gained a small amount of time of the others. Again, it was Van Aert that brought him back, followed by van der Poel. The trio set off while Walsleben followed closely behind with Sweeck and the pair rejoined their competitors up front half a lap later.

Sweeck put in another dig and gained a small margin with Walsleben in tow. Meeusen picked up the pace behind and brought the duo back, and the group of five was back together.

Sweeck’s attacks were relentless and he put in a third attempt to rid the chasers. Alone off the front, he looked the strongest of the riders, especially on the run through the sand pit.

Van Aert followed Sweeck as the lone chaser, roughly five seconds back. A further 10 seconds back, Peeters led the second chase group with Meeusen, Walsleben and van der Poel along with Bart Aernouts (Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team).

On the penultimate lap, Van Aert made it across to Sweeck and the pair raced against one another for the win. Sweeck lost time, however, on a small ride-up where he was forced to get off his bike and run behind Van Aert, who quickly rode over the top.

Van Aert extended his lead through the sand and started the last lap with a significant lead, while Sweeck was left to chase in second place. The small group of chasers behind raced one another for the third spot on the podium. Meeusen hopped the barriers one last time and gained the gap he needed to take third place.

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