Michael Vanthourenhout shows great form week before World Championships: "I tried to hang on for as long as possible"

Mathieu van der Poel's victory in Hamme cross probably didn't raise many eyebrows anymore at this point of the season, marking his eleventh triumph in twelve crosses he's participated in. However it was the performance of runner-up Michael Vanthourenhout that gained a lot of attention as the European champion was able to keep up with the Dutch phenomenon's attack for a bit.

"I tried to hang on for as long as possible, but at a certain point I had to slow down so as not to go completely over my head. After that I just rode at my own pace to take second place. I had good legs in the beginning and you know that Mathieu will come up with his move at some point."

"It wasn't too bad at first," Vanthourenhout thinks back to the moment when Van der Poel accelerated. "But Mathieu has such a high basic pace... I can maintain that for two laps, but not for an entire cross. So I had to go back to my own pace. I came back a bit afterwards, until I creaked again and had to give up seconds. I had to slow down again to get into my rhythm."

Van der Poel was long gone, but Vanthourenhout managed to finish in second place without any problems. And more importantly: he shows that he is in top condition a week before the World Championships in Tábor. "There is now one week left to the World Championships. Not much will change anymore. I hope to stay healthy and then we'll see."