The centre of Overijse was transformed in an arena in which the best cyclocross riders in the world battled with each other on the occasion of the Druivencross. Quinten Hermans, 2nd in de World Cup standings, led the delegation of Tormans Cyclo Cross Team in this fifth race of the World Cup in Flanders. He was accompanied by Corné Van Kessel, Swiss champion Kevin Kuhn, young rider Emiel Verstrynge and Thomas Mein, who rode his first race of the season on Belgian soil.
Marie Schreiber, who won the race in Contern one day before, first took the start of the elite women’s race with Zoe Bäckstedt. But unfortunately she had to abandon with a mechanical as a consequence of a crash in the first lap. Bäckstedt finished 26th in the race won by Kata Blanka Vas.
Just before the start of the men’s race, it started raining cats and dogs on the muddy parcours. These new conditions pushed the riders towards mistakes and crashes. Also Quinten Hermans went down after setting the pace for the first three laps. After changing shoes, he was caught by his teammate Corné Van Kessel, who was also unlucky when he punctured with two laps to go.
Hermans and Van Kessel finished 5th and 7th respectively, with Emiel Verstrynge crossing the line in an impressive 12th place. Kevin Kuhn and Thomas Mein ended 20th and 37th. Hermans is now 4th in the World Cup standings. The next race is scheduled in Tabor (Czech Republic) in two weeks.
« Difficult races suit me better and better. I can use my power well on parcours such as here in Overijse, and also on a technical level my race was almost flawless today. It’s nice that I manage to continue the progression I made last year. But finishing 10th and 12th in elite World Cups, that really exceeds our expectations. I’m very satisfied about these performances and I pay attention not to take these results as a new standard. I know that a top 20 can reflect a very good race for a 19 year old, and I suppose there will be some setbacks as well this season. So I’m looking forward to the next races with a lot of confidence, hoping to line up at the European Championships with today’s feeling! »
