Lander Loockx excited about his riding at the Koppenbergcross: "I was able to ride from the front. That was a thrill, especially on the Koppenberg"

To his regret, he did not participate in the European Championships last weekend, but Lander Loockx, the late addition of TDT-Unibet proved once again in the grueling Koppenbergcross that everyone should take him into account towards his first World Cup in Dendermonde.

"I was a bit surprised myself," Loockx admitted candidly afterwards to In de Leiderstrui. Despite the fact that he had to puff out for a few minutes after the race, there was still plenty of room for discussion after some rest. "On the Koppenberg itself I was stuck a bit and I couldn't really get through, but I was able to move on a bit and rode the right lines."

"I was suddenly at the front and even had a gap," said the 26-year-old rider soberly. "I tried to ride as economically as possible, but it was not that easy. I spoiled myself a bit in my enthusiasm, because I was able to ride from the front. That was a thrill, especially on the Koppenberg," he then said with a smile from ear to ear.

Despite that good start, Loockx only just finished within the top ten in the end. "At the last time at Koppenberg I had a mechanical, which meant I had to get off the bike for a while. I lost a few places there, which was a shame. Anyway, in itself it was certainly not a bad cross."