"I came here to win, but I was beaten on value" - Lars van der Haar disappointed with his result

It was not Lars van der Haar’s day in Namur. He met with a series of crashes and had to settle for second place at the European cyclocross championships.

"I came here to win, but I was beaten on value," he told WielerFlits. He enjoyed a nice start, just behind Eli Iserbyt. "I was well along toward that cobblestone climb. Eli was bluffing uphill. I thought: if I get there now, I'll just bluff right over. That worked out well. I had the race well under control for my feeling, but I changed to lower tire pressure, and suddenly, pats, I was flat. That's when the race turned in Michael's favour."

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Van der Haar encountered a flat tyre just before the final lap, which made things worse for him. "But on the other hand, you never know. At that time I was not under pressure, then you also make fewer mistakes. When Michael came back and rode so well downhill, I was just under pressure. Then a mistake is easily made. Unfortunately, I made two small mistakes and one big one when I hit the pole. That did seriously affect me."

He also crashed several times during the race. "I just slid off with my front wheel, but unfortunately, I just slid into a pole with my hand. My shifter was also stuck in the tape. Before you get away once, then... I could also brake badly with my right hand for a lap then, I'm hurting pretty good now too."

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He lost all hopes of victory after Michael Vanthourenhout overtook him in the final lap. The gap was too big to even think about challenging him. "But that was too much, if Michael didn't make any mistakes. I could grab maybe one or two seconds uphill, I kept putting pressure, but he didn't make any mistakes. Of course I'm disappointed. I came here to win, but I got knocked for value. I did have a little bit of bad luck, but in the end I am at peace with it," Van der Haar concluded.

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Silver medal it is for the defending champion after such a strong race 👏👏 @larsvanderhaar #EuroCross22

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