Another World Cup weekend opened this Saturday with the tenth round of the season, scheduled at the Rucphen circuit (Netherlands). The entire Elites male delegation of Tormans Cyclo Cross Team was at the start, namely Quinten Hermans, Kévin Kuhn, Thomas Mein and Corné Van Kessel.
A very close race took place on the very diverse course of 3 kilometers, including sand, steps, short climbs and the famous carousel of Camiel. Hermans and Van Kessel led the way in the first half of the race, the duo occupying the top three places. The Belgian even took the lead from the third lap, managed to thwart a first attack by Pidcock and regained the lead until lap six.
Seven riders, including Hermans, were fighting for the win on the penultimate lap. A decisive acceleration from Iserbyt on the ninth and final lap led to a man-to-man final between a quartet, which included Hermans. After a cross of more than an hour, Hermans finished at the foot of the podium, twelve seconds behind the winner Pidcock. Van Kessel took eighth place, Swiss champion Kuhn took eleventh place and Thomas Mein finished 22nd.
This Sunday, eight riders of Tormans Cyclo Cross Team have an appointment on the Citadel of Namur for the eleventh race of the World Cup. Swiss champion Kevin Kuhn, winner of the U23 race in 2019, will race alongside Quinten Hermans, Thomas Mein and Corné van Kessel in the elite category. Marie Schreiber (women U23 & elite), Zoe Bäckstedt (women junior) and Théo Thomas, Emiel Verstrynge and Joran Wyseure (U23) will race in their respective categories.
After the race in Besançon I travelled home to Switzerland for rest and training. It was good to recharge my batteries close to family and friends before tackling the busy Christmas period. The result of this renewed energy was already visible in Val di Sole last week. The snow parcours contained difficult technical parts and nobody really knew what to expect from the unprecedented circumstances. But I think it was fun and I performed above my expectations. Today was completely different. It’s been quite a while since we last had a fast race like here in Rucphen. I felt good, but after a mediocre start it took me quite some time to join the leading group. And once I made the junction, they increased the speed. This 11th place is satisfying, I’m looking forward to tomorrow in Namur!
