ebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
And the men are already lined up for their #X2OBadkamerstrofee heat in #Herenthals! Same course as the women, but not the same as last year (see attached maps, via @cyclocross24 on twitter).
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023

Small false start by Jens Adam, but we're really off now!

Van der Haar, who is no doubt looking to correct his sub-par race and the time loss from Baal, takes the lead. Van der Poel and van Aert in his wheel.

Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Interesting. Not many of the women took this 'deeper' side of the descend. Or at least, not voluntarily: Alvarado did when she was forced to. But nearly all of the men take that 'deeper' side!
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023

Race for the win at the front: Van Aert, van der Poel, joined by Adams.

Behind them is the race for the overall: Iserbyt, van der Haar, joined by Ronhaar. Vanthourenhout isn't here today, so he's not defending his overall (see attached overview).

The first group will take away all the bonus seconds, so the second group will get none.

Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Van der Poel attacking on the technical parts of the course. Van Aert manages to hold the wheel, but Adams has to let go. The group of Iserbyt, van der haar and Ronhaar behind them wasn't that far off, but that gap suddenly doubled.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Adams is back with van der Poel and van Aert, but now it's van der Haar losing contact with Iserbyt and Ronhaar.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023

Not a good day for van der Haar. He'll lose more time in the overall. But since Vanthourenhout isn't here today and thus will get a 5 minutes penalty, he'll most likely still keep his 2nd place.

Unless, of course, Adams can take full advantage of following van Aert and van der Poel, and makes up 3:30 or more.

Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Did anybody see why van Aert took a new bike? That change has made him loose contact with van der Poel, so I'm assuming it was a forced bike change. Maybe a soft tyre?
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023

Adams slowly dropping back, is now in the group with Ronhaar and Iserbyt. Van der Haar 11 seconds behind that group, together with Hermans. So van der Haar probably won't lose his overall 2nd place to Adams today, but so far he's not making up time to Iserbyt either. Losing a bit, even, right now.

Oh, and now Adams slides out of a corner and is out of that group too.

Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Van der Haar slowly closing the gap, so I expect he'll probably get back to Iserbyt. Ronhaar is doing really well today, by the way. Currently in a (virtual) podium position even!
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Ahhhh, so Ronhaar just dropped back to help van der Haar, hoping to get him back to Iserbyt! That's team work. And most likely Ronhaar wouldn't be able to carry that third postion all the way to the finish anyway.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023

Is van der Poel just acting, or is he really struggling a bit today? I guess we'll know in 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Ronhaar springboard tactic has worked quite well, and van der Haar is now close to Iserbyt. He'll have to close the last gap by himself though, because Ronhaar has just tapped out.

Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
We've got two BEL-NED battles going on on the front of the race right now. In both case, the Belgian is looking a bit better. But that's pretty much meaningless at this point, since the race is far from over, so lots can still happen.
Show threadebbe nieuweboer
And just as I say that, the Dutchie takes over in both cases 🤣
Jan 3, 2023 at 2:47pmWeb
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Van Aert not able to drop van der Poel on a power section… And then tries to do it running up the wall. So yes, we've got another race on out hands! #ProperCross
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Last lap!
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Cameron Mason is steadily making up positions, and is now riding safely in 5th. Pretty impressive for the young man.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023

3-4? Or 2-5?

ATTACK VAN DER POEL! But can Aert immediately takes over.

Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Very impressive how they're both able to do this at (I guess) peak power/heart rate, and still make no mistakes at all.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Oh no! That looked like van Aert's rear tyre exploded? Win for van der Poel. I won't say "easy win", but it's guaranteed.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023

Iserbyt wins the sprint for 3rd form van der Haar. That means that almost nothing changes in the overall.

Mason finishes in 5th and Ronhaar in 6th, and they can both be very happy with that result.

Show threadebbe nieuweboerJan 3, 2023
Van der Poel confirms he saw that van Aert had an issue and that's why he could not respond to the attack, so he din't celebrate the win extravagantly on purpose. Says he feels sorry for van Aert not being able to defend his chances for the win.