Michael Vanthourenhout & Sara Casasola get well-deserved wins to end X2O Badkammers Trofee season in Brussels

Sara Casasola and Michael Vanthourenhout have the win in Brussels as the 2024/25 X2O Badkamers Trofee came to an end, with the Brussels Universities Cyclocross races this Sunday afternoon in the Belgian capital.

In the women's race, there was a big crash right at the very first corner. Throughout the early laps in fact, numerous riders went down as the got to grips with the tricky course. As the race began to settle down though, it was the Crelan-Corendon duo of Sara Casasola and the Belgian National Champion Marion Norbert Riberolle that came to the fore, distancing Lucinda Brand in the process.

In the end, the battle between Casasola and Norbert Riberolle went all the way to the very last. Heading into the final few corners, it was the Italian who had the front and as she threw caution to the wind to try and keep her advantage, Casasola narrowly held on to take the win at the line.

For the men meanwhile, Toon Aerts was the quickest starter, gaining a lead on the opening lap. As he attempted to push the limits and extend that advantage though, the Belgian crashed hard into the barriers at the side of the course, knocking the wind out of him momentarily. Following the incident of drama, the next rider to get a gap at the front was Michael Vanthourenhout, although Joris Nieuwenhuis was right behind, leading the chase.

As those two linked up at the front, the pair began to work strongly together, building a big gap over 3rd on course Lars van der Haar. Heading into the last lap, Vanthourenhout and Nieuwenhuis were still locked together. In the end though, it was Michael Vanthourenhout that secured the win ahead of Joris Nieuwenhuis, with Lars van der Haar holding on for third place behind.