Laurens Sweeck takes first win in over year and a half in Essen: "This is a very important victory for me"

Laurens Sweeck's last victory in the cyclocross field took place in February of 2023 but today the Crelan - Corendon rider raised his arms in glory once again. The Belgian veteran has had a very difficult last season but has returned to the top step of the podium this afternoon in a thrilling and tight race.

“It was a bit nervous. On the longer stretches at the beginning of the circuit, the wind played a role. There was always a bit of a jostling towards the beams and the bushes from behind. I was able to keep myself in a good position throughout the race," he said in a post-race interview. The non-technical and dry course in Essen proved to not be hard enough to create differences and so it would all come down to who had the most legs on the final lap. Sweeck followed Niels Vandeputte on the final attack and then took a strong win, beating his rival in the final sprint.

“I didn’t expect to win here right away, because the rest already have some competition in their legs and I had to endure the race a bit. I couldn’t really start better than this. I think I was a bit lucky that Niels faltered in that last corner, because in principle you can’t catch up with Niels there, because he’s also fast.”

This is indeed his first cross of the season and the best possible start for him, who will start the Superprestige cup tomorrow and without Eli Iserbyt. “I think it’s just as difficult, but a mud cross like that often gets into the muscles a bit more. You usually recover a bit faster from such a fast cross. This is a very important victory for me, because it has been a long time since I won,” he concluded.