108 unhinged juniors started like headless chickens at the World Cup in Wollongong. It took a long time before a leading group drove away, but when Ronde Van Vlaanderen winner Romet Pajur got involved, a group of 6 drove away.
On the 6th of 8 ascents of Mount Pleasant, their adventure was over. Their attempt has never been much more than a “sidenote”.
The race then completely exploded, only to stop in the last two laps. Vlad Van Mechelen, the only remaining Belgian, went along well with the other favorites and entered the final phase with medal chances.
Going into the final lap, Antonio “Zorro” Morgado accelerated. The Portuguese held up well on Mount Pleasant and looked certain to win.
Nevertheless, the German Emil Herzog still managed to pass the Portuguese in the descent. The two of them made it a fantastic sprint. Morgado came next to Herzog, but couldn’t get over it.
Van Mechelen came back from beaten position in the sprint and became 3rd in just under a minute. It is the fourth medal in Wollongong for Belgium.
