"After all these years, I’m still proud" - Lars van der Haar opens cyclocross season with 'breathless' victory

One of the more senior statesmen of the cyclocross field, Lars van der Haar proved he still has plenty left in the tank on Saturday afternoon in Beringen, timing his late attack to perfection to snatch victory from European champion Michael Vanthourenhout on the final lap.

“I was a bit breathless at the beginning,” admitted the 33-year-old of Baloise - Trek Lions in his post-race interview. “I was waiting for the race to get harder, but I didn’t want to do that myself. It was quiet on the intermediate sections every time, so I chose not to take too many risks on the descents. During the last three laps the pace increased and I was able to get into my rhythm.”

Opening the 2024/25 cyclocross campaign with his 39th professional victory, Van der Haar could hardly have dreamed of a more perfect season starter. "I never expected a win,” the early Exact Cross leader concludes. “I knew I had trained well, but you don’t know what to expect from your opponents. After all these years, I’m still proud to win the first race.”

As mentioned, second on the day went to European champion Michael Vanthourenhout. "I had Lars in the back of my mind for a long time. You know that at the end of a race he can still accelerate on climbs and that he can ride the same lap times as at the beginning of the race," assessed the Belgian in his oqn post-race interview. "The first feeling is good, you never know what the shape of the competitors is. This went well, so I hope it stays like this for the rest of the season."