“It was really to the limit, or beyond” – Vanthourenhout conquers Nieuwenhuis to win Superprestige opener

Michael Vanthourenhout had an excellent start to the Superprestige series, securing a hard-fought victory in the opening round in Ruddervoorde. He narrowly defeated Joris Nieuwenhuis in a sprint, and got his second victory of the season, after winning the Swiss Cyclocross Cup #1 - Internationales Radquer Steinmaur on October 12.

"It was really to the limit, or beyond," said an exhausted Vanthourenhout in the post-race interview in comments gathered by Wieler Flits. "But when you win, it’s always good."

Vanthourenhout passed Dutch racer Joris Nieuwenhuis during the sand section of the course, not far from the finish line. "I thought he dismounted fairly early and was walking slowly up the sand. I thought: I’ll try to pass him just before the barriers. From there, it was all or nothing."

Nieuwenhuis had initially made an attempt to break away during the race, and it was not easy at for Vanthourenhout to catch him. "I thought he was riding really fast. We had to work with three or four guys to close that gap. I think Joran (Wyseure) was the one to close the final gap. Then I knew everything would be decided in the last lap. You had to be the first or second rider to come out of the sandpit."

Vanthourenhout hadn’t won in Ruddervoorde before, and this race is special for him for personal reasons. "It’s always been a race I enjoy going to. It’s only ten kilometers from my parents' house, so it’s nice to check this one off the list."

Joris Nieuwenhuis, who finished in second place, was also content with his race performance. "I did exactly what I wanted to do: race," said the Dutchman from Ridley Racing Team. "Richard (team manager Richard Groenendaal) didn’t like that we were all looking at each other. He said: 'I want you to try to go all out just once.' And I tried to do that."

The Dutch rider also talked about the race tactics and how hard the day was for all the riders. "I also thought that if I had a gap, hopefully they would start looking at each other behind me. But they kept pushing hard. Then I thought: now they’re coming back and will go right past me because they were able to sit in the draft. But they were also worn out. It was a tough race. We raced hard from the first lap to the last."

When asked about the sand section, where Vanthourenhout passed him, Nieuwenhuis admitted to feeling the toll of the race. "I had already given a lot, so I was pretty much in the red by the time I hit the sand. I might have had another chance after that, because I was still on his wheel, but I just couldn't recover. It was over," he concluded.