“In the final lap I was lucky” – Michael Vanthourenhout puts early-season struggles behind him with thrilling World Cup win in Sardinia
Cyclocross
Michael Vanthourenhout returned to winning ways in Terralba with a perfectly timed last-lap move, ending a subdued opening phase of his winter with a World Cup victory that came down to pure positioning and razor-sharp decision-making. After more than an hour of racing in the Sardinian mud, the Belgian finally prised open a race that had refused to split all afternoon.
Fine margins decide a tightly controlled World Cup
The men’s race never found a natural break. Lap after lap, the same names tested each other without success: Joris Nieuwenhuis lighting up the sand and long straights, Pim Ronhaar attacking with intent, Laurens Sweeck fighting for the podium while keeping a calm head, and Ryan Kamp repeatedly clawing himself back into contention. Even with eleven riders still in the mix at halfway, the race stayed locked together.
Vanthourenhout, though, looked increasingly settled as the pace rose. He matched every acceleration from Nieuwenhuis and Ronhaar, rode efficiently through the mud, and refused to let the race become chaotic. When the penultimate lap thinned the group to five — Vanthourenhout, Nieuwenhuis, Sweeck, Vandeputte and Kamp — the Belgian sensed the moment approaching.
“It felt good to be fighting for the win again,” Vanthourenhout said afterwards. “I felt very strong today, but it was difficult to make a gap.”
The move that made the race
The final lap delivered the decisive shift. With overtaking almost impossible on the Terralba course, position became everything. Nieuwenhuis tried to seize the lead, Sweeck countered to hold second wheel, and the tension mounted as the five-man group funnelled toward the final muddy climb.
Vanthourenhout struck at exactly the right second. “In the final lap I was lucky that I could move up on the inside,” he explained. “Hopefully that slightly weaker period is now behind me.”
The acceleration snapped the elastic instantly. Nieuwenhuis and Sweeck reacted, but the gap was already made.
Reactions from the podium
Nieuwenhuis — again one of the strongest riders in the race — could only acknowledge the difference Vanthourenhout made when it mattered most. “Michael and I were the strongest in the race, but it was difficult to get away,” he said. “I tried to defend my position and hoped to do something in the final lap. Michael was just a bit stronger.”
Sweeck, who rode smartly all afternoon and remained in contention until the final metres, echoed that assessment. “It was a fight after every corner, but at the same time you had to position yourself well without wasting too much energy,” he said. “In the final lap I was in a good position, but in the end a tactical move from Michael in the mud made the difference.”
For Vanthourenhout, Terralba was more than just a victory — it was a welcome break of momentum at the right moment in the winter. A controlled race, a decisive final-lap attack, and a podium built on positioning rather than chaos: exactly the kind of performance that signals his season is shifting into gear.
He now leaves Sardinia with renewed confidence — and with the sense that his winter is finally moving in the right direction.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 5visitors 3
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I think that they're not really used to dealing with this type of incident in a cyclocross race, and the situation has been magnified because it was a race for a championship title. It's very unfortunate that the race had to be decided in this way.
santiagobenites07-11-2026 - Seriously why do they keep doing stupid things like this. Its one thing to relegate when the placings are minor, when the action is blatant. But when it is ambiguous, why dont they at least take advice from some higher up to avoid embarrassing themselves. This is similar to the Halland goal when his teammate was clearly offside and interfered in play and VAR gave them the goal. if you dont have evidence you cannot convict. Even for doping they have these rulesabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Why does cycling have to benefit at the expense of car driving? Almost all the riders I’ve ever encountered drive, in fact, cycling as a pro or competitive sport is hardly possible without driving.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- So all those who went to watch, including all from abroad, waled there, spent nothing? Most places hosting events of the sort manage to make it worthwhile. If it was so obviously fruitless, don’t you think by now they’d have run out of hosting candidates? Why do you think the Tour can command such high prices for departure and arrival locations? If it didn’t bring anything locally they’d have to pay to get authorisation to use cities.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- What a travesty ! That little deviation did nothing to impede Brand !frieders307-11-2026
- I also wanne beat Pogacar in the tour but it aint gonne happen. Jonas unfortunately getting dropped by del toro and seixas several times this TDF and jonas team is very weak and joinas on way down, it aint happening thats clear. its also clear it only happened cause Pogacar was hurt and had a broken wrist that time everytime both full strenght its not close we just have to be honest about it :/miguel07-11-2026
- They do this but literally let cars on courses to run over riders.mij07-11-2026
- Looking at that photo she appears to be several feet from her. I’m not sure how that impeded brands sprint.mij07-11-2026
- I hope you are wrong but I suspect you will be proved correct. It might do something for Scottish tourism - although due to logistics the route skips the most spectacular parts of Scotland. It will bring in short term money no doubt, but will cycling overall in the U,K benifit? I doubt it. Even at £2 a litre the bits love thei cars,Cyclingsbestfan07-11-2026
- Lucky to not get disqualified
leedorney07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment