Belgian coach believes van der Haar is the man to beat at Europeans - "Lars is opponent number one"

A prediction has already been made by Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout about the winner of the European Championships. In his opinion, Lars van der Haar is the number one favourite to become the European champion next Sunday.

"I'm not saying that to pass the pressure on to him," Vanthourenhout told Het Laatste Nieuws. He continues. "I just see what I see: Lars is getting better week after week. He was good in Tabor, he was very good in Ruddervoorde and Maasmechelen, and he won on the Koppenberg. Sunday, he gets a course that suits him very well: he is the man to beat."

Furthermore, the national coach finds it surprising that Van der Haar is often overlooked. Over the past decade, Van der Haar has finished on the podium eight times at European or World Championships. "Why do they always forget him anyway. Because he is not a frequent winner, it is not always noticed. He often makes good use of the situation offered to him. If they want a Belgian to become the European champion, they will have to be smart about it. I'm definitely going to remind the guys again that Lars is opponent number one,” concluded Vanthourenhout.