With the lack of some of the main names in the cyclocross scene, Pauwels Sauzen came fully charged to take a dominant win in Maldegem.
The weekend after the world championships is always an interesting one. As some of the riders who will focus on the road season switch off and look towards building the endurance, the purists remain in the field to get some more wins, and surprises are more prone to happen as the legs start to weight for many.
Pauwels Sauzen came with their trio of leaders into the Ethias Cross race and soon enough they made the difference, with Michael Vanthourenhout and Laurens Sweeck getting a gap early on in the very fast track. As Lars van der Haar crashed in the barriers behind, they were unmatched today.
Vanthourenhout also took a tumble which took him out of contention, but Laurens Sweeck kept the gap over the chasing group to take the win. Eli Iserbyt managed to ride in the wheels behind and in the final lap put in a move to guarrantee him second place, just in front of van der Haar who managed to recover positions through the field as the race went on.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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🏆 Ethias Cross - Parkcross Maldegem ME (C2) 🇧🇪 1 🇧🇪 Laurens Sweeck @laurenssweeck 2 🇧🇪 Eli Iserbyt @IserbytEli 3 🇳🇱 Lars van der Haar @larsvanderhaar 4 🇧🇪 Niels Vandeputte @NielsVDPutte 5 🇧🇪 Toon Vandebosch @toonvandebosch ➡️ Results: bit.ly/3HyHNmW
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