Lars van der Haar "takes it easy" in the Koppenbergcross as his teammate sails to victory: "In the end it was just a case of waiting and taking second place"

No second victory in a row for Lars van der Haar in the Koppenbergcross. The Dutch champion finished second, behind his teammate Thibau Nys, confidentally covering his younger colleague's back.

“How hard was it? That wasn't too bad actually... No, it was really tough," he joked in the flash interview afterwards. "But I was able to cycle the entire race with some surplus because Thibau was away. In the end it was just a case of waiting and taking second place," said Van der Haar, who won the sprint against Eli Iserbyt at the last Koppenberg.

"I actually knew the entire race that I would come second. I felt that I was better than Michael and Eli, but I couldn't pull away because Thibau was in front. In the end, Thibau just held up really well, so I just had to wait for the last climb."

What was the toughest point of the course? "The whole lap actually. Also that you couldn't get out of the saddle on the Koppenberg. You had to lean back a lot and stay seated. It was hard to get out all of your power. But it wasn't the toughest race of my career."