This Saturday, a delegation of five riders from Tormans Cyclo Cross Team lined up at the start of the Flandriencross in Hamme, the sixth round of the X2O Trophy. One week before the World Championships, Joran Wyseure took the eleventh victory of the season for the team directed by Jean-François Bourlart.
Wyseure was especially confronted with a strong Cameron Mason in the battle for the victory in the Men’s U23 category. Both riders were evenly matched after the beginning of the race, during which Wyseure overtook World Champion Pim Ronhaar to join the Briton in the race lead. The decisive moment in the duel between Wyseure and Mason took place in the pits with one and a half lap to go. After a bike change, Mason wasn’t able to follow the rhythm of the West-Flemish rider anymore and saw how Wyseure rode towards his second victory of the season.
In the Women’s Elite category, Shana Maes and Marie Schreiber returned into competition for the first time since the national championships, accompanied by Zoe Bäckstedt from Tormans-Acrog. Behind the best Elite riders in the world, the young girls in the Tormans colors battled for a place in the top 10. The newly crowned U23 Luxembourg champion Marie Schreiber (18 yo) finished 11th, just ahead of Briton Zoe Bäckstedt (17 yo) who took 13th place. Shana Maes finished 41st.
In the Elite Men’s race, Corné van Kessel defended the colors of the Belgian team on the Meulebroek domain. The Dutch rider repeated his performance from one week before in Flamanville by animating the beginning of the race and by finishing 7th.
Van Kessel and Schreiber will also be at the start of the final round of the World Cup in Hoogerheide in the Netherlands this Sunday. The Dutch rider will be accompanied by his teammates Quinten Hermans, Kevin Kuhn, Thomas Mein, Théo Thomas and Emiel Verstrynge in the Elite Men’s race
« Just like in Koksijde, the winning feeling is very special! It was towards the end of the race that I started to feel that I was the strongest, as the pace slowed down each time Cameron was pulling. I also noticed that I easily closed the gap to the Briton after a bike change, in contrary to him. When he swapped bikes with one and a half lap to go and had to get back to my slipstream, I went all out, hoping to keep my slight advantage through the bike park, as that was his preferred part of the course. Once the last straight line was in sight and I still had a little gap, I knew that he wouldn't catch me anymore on the slightly downhill road. This performance gives me a lot of confidence ahead of the World Championships! I'll celebrate this success moderately whilst packing my bikes and bags for Fayetteville. I leave the right to party to my parents and nearest as they really deserve this! »
Photos: X2O Trofee
