Parkcross Maldegem: Laurens Sweeck takes victory in Pauwels Sauzen one-two

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.