Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, November 26, 2018
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has. - Rene Descartes
Upcoming Racing:
- December 1: GP Hasselt
- December 15: Scheldecross
Latest completed racing:
- November 18: Flandriencross
- November 11: Telenet Super Prestige Gavere Cyclocross
- November 4: European Cyclocross Championships
- November 1: Cyclocross Koppenberg
- October 28: Cyclocross Ruddervorde
- October 23 - 31: Tour of Hainan
- October 21: Japan Cup
- October 9 - 14: Presidential Tour of Turkey
- October 14: Chrono des Nations
- October 13: Il Lombardia
- October 11: Gran Piemonte
Mathieu van der Poel, Denise Betsema win at Koksijde
Here's the VeloNews report:
Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) made it look easy in the setting sun and sand dunes of Koksijde. He took the lead within five minutes, built a huge gap in the first half of the race, and was able to ease off the gas to enjoy the final laps in comfort.
Mathieu van der Poel wins again. Photo: Photopress.be
“Koksijde is one of my favorite races, and I always come here motivated,” Van der Poel said. “I wanted to go flat out one more time before starting my training camp.”
Van der Poel took the holeshot, with Lars van der Haar (Telenet Fidea Lions) tight on his wheel, and a select group including Quinten Hermans, Corne van Kessel (both Telenet Fidea Lions) Wout van Aert, and World Cup leader Toon Aerts (Telenet Fidea Lions) close behind. World champion Van Aert crashed early in the lap on a sandy bank, losing momentum and time.
As soon as halfway through the opening lap, Van der Poel had built a 10-second lead, growing this to 15 seconds as he crossed the line for lap two. The chase was led by Van der Haar, with Van Kessel and Aerts a few seconds behind him. Van Aert steadily regained the time he lost to his earlier mistake, and made contact with Van Kessel and Aerts toward the end of the lap.
By lap three, Van der Poel was over 20 seconds in the lead, with Aerts second, and Van Kessel, Van Aert, Van der Haar and Daan Soete (Pauwels Sauzen-Vastgoedservice) soon behind him. Van der Poel was racing confidently yet aggressively at the head of the course, constantly gaining time, looking totally in control as he guided his bike through the sand, always looking fully composed.
You can read the entire story here.
Elite Men's Results:
| 1 | VAN DER POEL Mathieu | 1hr 4min 13sec |
| 2 | VAN AERT Wout | @ 25sec |
| 3 | AERTS Toon | @ 48sec |
| 4 | VAN DER HAAR Lars | @ 1min 45sec |
| 5 | VAN KESSEL Corne | @ 2min 18sec |
| 6 | SWEECK Laurens | @ 2min 22sec |
| 7 | SOETE Daan | @ 2min 26sec |
| 8 | VANTHOURENHOUT Michael | @ 2min 37sec |
| 9 | NIEUWENHUIS Joris | @ 2min 40sec |
| 10 | PAUWELS Kevin | s.t. |
Elite Women's results:
| 1 | BETSEMA Denise | 45min 53sec |
| 2 | BRAMMEIER Nikki | @ 8sec |
| 3 | WORST Annemarie | @ 11sec |
| 4 | ALVARADO Ceylin del Carmen | @ 12sec |
| 5 | ARZUFFI Alice Maria | @ 27sec |
| 6 | VERDONSCHOT Laura | @ 29sec |
| 7 | CANT Sanne | @ 30sec |
| 8 | VAN LOY Ellen | @ 40sec |
| 9 | RICHARDS Evie | s.t. |
| 10 | NAGENGAST Fleur | @ 1min 3sec |
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