"A perfect cross" was almost enough for Laurens Sweeck to take maiden World Cup win

Laurens Sweeck has won several times as a pro rider, but has not yet been able to take a win at World Cup level. This weekend over in Fayetteville he came incredibly close, but was beaten by his former teammate Eli Iserbyt.

“I did ride a perfect cross, at least in my opinion. I couldn't have been closer," he shared after the stage. "That I should never lose this sprint and that I am basically faster than Iserbyt? I had lost just a little too much strength for that, and that in the last hundreds of meters in the field. It was something on me. The last part of this cross suited me better than the first part. I tried to shake off Eli Iserbyt, but it wouldn't budge. Not even with the umpteenth acceleration of myself.”

Sweeck had finished second to Iserbyt in Waterloo, however was nevertheless distant from the win. This weekend it went all the way into the sprint, where after an early launch, he was overtaken almost at the line. “All that was left for me was the sprint with him to determine who would win. I could feel the forces draining away in the last meters. Then I knew it wouldn't be for me," he described.

"I was very close. Maybe this second place is worth a win? That's how I think about it. I gave everything in the sprint, but one was just a little faster," he concluded. However, his strong start to the World Cup sees him in second position, and his current form could see him take his opening win of the season soon - with Tabor already in the riders' schedules for this coming weekend.