"I tried to follow Wout for a while" - Emiel Verstrynge best of the rest behind Van Aert at World Cup Dendermonde
Cyclocross
Emiel Verstrynge couldn't quite crown a first senior World Cup victory in Dendermonde. The 22-year-old Belgian continued his good form of recent weeks to finish best of the rest behind Wout van Aert in second place.
"I had a good start and was able to find my pace after that," the Crelan - Corendon rider told Sporza in his post-race interview afterwards. "I tried to follow Wout for a while, but soon noticed that it was just a bit too fast. It was a long and tough race, so I decided to ride my own pace. Apparently that was enough to keep the rest behind me."
Nevertheless, Verstrynge can take a lot of positivity from his performance. “I like to ride at a steady pace for an hour,” he continued his post-race assessment. “That makes it fun, despite the effort. I didn’t necessarily expect this result, especially not on the second day of a double weekend. That makes it extra special.”
And with the Belgian national championships coming up, Verstrynge can fight for the tricolor with confidence. “It is great to be on the podium a week before the Belgian Championship,” he concludes with optimism. “I have had to dig deep regularly in the past period, but it is nice to see that the hard work pays off.”
| 01 | van Aert Wout | - | 01:02:49 |
| 02 | Verstrynge Emiel | - | + 01:20 |
| 03 | Wyseure Joran | - | + 01:41 |
| 04 | Aerts Toon | - | + 01:52 |
| 05 | Vanthourenhout Michael | - | + 02:24 |
| 06 | Ronhaar Pim | - | + 02:43 |
| 07 | Kuhn Kevin | - | + 02:49 |
| 08 | Nys Thibau | - | + 03:14 |
| 09 | Mason Cameron | - | + 03:15 |
| 10 | Hendrikx Mees | - | + 03:35 |
| 11 | Iserbyt Eli | - | + 03:46 |
| 12 | Orts Lloret Felipe | - | + 03:52 |
| 13 | Vandebosch Toon | - | + 03:54 |
| 14 | Dubau Joshua | - | + 03:54 |
| 15 | Boros Michael | - | + 04:09 |
| 16 | Kamp Ryan | - | + 04:32 |
| 17 | Van Kessel Corne | - | + 04:51 |
| 18 | Sommer Lars | - | + 04:55 |
| 19 | van der Haar Lars | - | + 05:06 |
| 20 | Viezzi Stefano | - | + 05:13 |
| 21 | Vandenberghe Viktor | - | + 05:30 |
| 22 | Ferdinande Anton | - | + 06:04 |
| 23 | Vandeputte Niels | - | + 06:10 |
| 24 | De Brauwere Sil | - | + 06:26 |
| 25 | Remijn Senna | - | + 07:30 |
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