“In the first lap I thought: ‘What the? I need to wake up!’” - Marion Norbert Riberolle turns slow start to dominant Belgian Championship defence

Marion Norbert Riberolle admitted she had a moment of panic in the opening lap of the Belgian national cyclocross championships, before turning that early wobble into a second straight national title.

The defending champion made another sluggish start in Beringen and briefly found herself buried in the pack, while Fleur Moors surged to the front and quickly began to build a gap. But Norbert Riberolle never lost belief. “In the first lap she took a bit of a gap. I thought: ‘What the f*ck, I need to wake up,’” she said after the race to Sporza.

Her recovery began on the climbs, where she steadily closed Moors down. When the two finally came together, the race swung decisively. Moors made a mistake in a technical corner, forcing both riders off the bike, and Norbert Riberolle emerged first to open a small but crucial gap. From there, she grew stronger with every lap. “But the motto of my championship was: stay calm. Á l’aise. I’m very good in the final laps, so I had to have confidence,” she said.

By the time the race entered its final lap, Norbert Riberolle had around 15 seconds in hand. She extended that margin again on the last climb and rode alone to the finish, sealing back-to-back Belgian titles.

Norbert Riberolle revealed just how much the Belgian jersey had been on her mind in the build-up. “All week I was thinking: I don’t want to leave for training camp without the Belgian jersey,” she said. “I had to wait before putting it in my suitcase, because I’m very superstitious.”

Her win comes just one year after ending Sanne Cant’s long reign at the top of Belgian women’s cyclocross. With two titles now to her name, she is beginning to look like the new fixed point of the discipline in Belgium. “It’s so nice,” she smiled after crossing the line.

Despite her growing lead in the closing stages, she said she never fully relaxed. “I heard the crowd shouting ‘come on, Fleur’, so I knew she was close. But when Fleur crashed on the last slanted descent, I knew it was good.”

Moors eventually finished second to take her first-ever Belgian championship medal, while Kiona Crabbe claimed a surprise bronze.

Norbert Riberolle marked her victory with a heart gesture at the finish line. “For my team Crelan-Corendon,” she explained. “It’s really nice to have a team behind me like that every week, whether things go well or badly.”

She also dedicated the moment to her family. “And a heart for my family in France, for whom it’s not easy to watch cyclocross in Belgium.”

From a shaky first lap to a solo ride to the line, Norbert Riberolle’s title defence was built on patience, confidence and timing. In Beringen, staying calm turned out to be the perfect championship strategy.