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Michael Vanthourenhout, one of the top favorites for the overall victory, canceled in the last instance due to illness and so the organizers got 55 riders at the start. A large leading group entered the second round. This included Joris Nieuwenhuis, Daan Soete, Lander Loockx, Felipe Orts, Laurens Sweeck, David van der Poel, Mees Hendrikx, Witse Meeussen, Diether Sweeck and Lander Loockx.
Once back in the field, Laurens Sweeck turned on his turbo and the leading group exploded completely. Sweeck, who let the American World Cup adventure pass by and went on an internship to Spain, immediately created a hefty gap. Behind him, the Dutch David van der Poel joined forces with Mees Hendrikx and Daan Soete. Until David van der Poel in turn accelerated and left Hendrikx and Soete in the lurch. The latter in turn had to let Hendrikx drive.
Laurens Sweeck continued to develop his own pace as leader and entered the final lap with a lead of just under a minute over David van der Poel. The latter still had to pass to keep Mees Hendrikx away from him. In the end, these places turned out to be fixed and Laurens Sweeck was able to make the victory gesture. Sweeck thus succeeds Gianni Vermeersch as the final laureate of this Kermiscross.
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“Going home with a good feeling”
Laurens Sweeck chose a ten-day internship in Spain over the three World Cup crosses in America. His stay in Mallorca paid off immediately. In Ardooie, the Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal rider left everyone behind. Sweeck put on a solo before half cross. No one was able to put anything in his way and so he was able to record his first victory of the season in the ‘vegetable community’.
“My pace in the second lap was maybe a little faster than the rest. I didn’t really hold back either. That is also not possible on such a course. Driving with the handbrake was certainly not an issue, because then you just stand still. I just tried to keep my own rhythm. In the last two laps I may have slowed down a bit. But also not too quiet. I wanted to go home with a good feeling and I will certainly do that with a win”, said Sweeck.
This year no American crosses for the former Belgian champion. He chose an internship in Mallorca. “I’m not going to say that that internship ensures that I win right away. Before that I also had the feeling that I had done a good job. I’ve gotten a bit of a cold the last few days and I’m happy that it didn’t play up today. This race was ideal to get back into it after two weekends without cross. I even ride three crosses in four days this week. I’ve been able to build up to what’s coming next. The guys who were working in America couldn’t really train and had to deal with displacements and so on. For me, the focus is not only on Zonhoven next Sunday. Also in Ruddervoorde, on Saturday, I want to participate to win. It would be really nice to get three out of three. The Kermiscross in Ardooie may not have been exciting for the public, but I’m glad I was able to finish it that way.”
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Van der Poel takes peace with second place: “Wasn’t in it anymore”
After the Gran Premio Ciudad de Pontevedra and the Ciclocross Internacional Xaxancx, David van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) took his third second place of the season in Ardooie on Thursday. In West Flanders he had to give way to Laurens Sweeck.
“I think it was clear that there was not much to say against Laurens Sweeck today. I suspect he even finished the final with the handbrake on. How long has he been with us? Not really long, right? Then you know enough. Laurens was the strongest of the pack. I quickly resigned myself to the fact that a second place was the highest attainable. I then fully focused on that. In the end it was still a tough battle with a few guys, but I still managed to make it,” clarified David van der Poel.
Like Laurens Sweeck, David van der Poel also completes three crosses in four days. “After today’s Ardooie, Saturday Ruddervoorde and Sunday Zonhoven are also on my program. That’s a lot, the succession of matches is coming now. I think from now on we will have two crosses every weekend, not to mention the period between Christmas Day and New Year. I do not intend to compete in all races. Every now and then I’ll leave something behind. I already missed the World Cup anyway by not making the crossing to America. The races of the Superprestige are all on my agenda. And then there are of course many other crosses such as the Ethias Crossen. I am now trying to continue Ardooie’s line.”
Hendrikx on the podium for the first time: “Boost after a bad period”
The 21-year-old Mees Hendrikx booked his first podium of the season in Ardooie on Thursday. For Thursday, seventh place in the GP Destil in the Netherlands was the Iko-Crelan rider’s best performance. With this great performance in West Flanders, Hendrikx hopes that the ban has been broken and that he has been launched for a beautiful and long season that is still to come.
“I am very satisfied with this third place. I’ve had a bit of a rough patch over the past few weeks. In Meulebeke and Gieten I had to be satisfied with a 25th and a 26th place respectively. Then this is a very nice boost”, added Mees Hendrikx.
Laurens Sweeck started running quite early in the race. He didn’t really get much opposition from the rest. “We started the second round with a very large leading group. And then Laurens Sweeck must have driven away from us. I didn’t see that myself because I had made a somewhat lesser start and therefore dangled in the back of the group. With Daan Soete and David van der Poel I formed a chasing trio on Laurens Sweeck. I had a very good feeling and still had enough gravy in my legs. I was even with reserves, but when David van der Poel went, I had to pass. I think I had a good day. It was also a question of staying on the right lines. Especially on this muddy track. Normally I don’t start in Ruddervoorde on Saturday. The cross in Zonhoven is on my program.”
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