Pim Ronhaar following thrilling finale in Dublin: "I thought: Ah sh*t, I'm not going to win"

In a truly thrilling finale to the latest round of UCI World Cup action in Dublin, Pim Ronhaar managed to hold off a fightback from Laurens Sweeck to outsprint his rival in the final straight.

“At the beginning I thought that Thibau Nys was going to win easily, because he was going so fast," the Baloise - Trek Lions star recalls in his post-race interview. "I knew I shouldn't give it my all right away, because it stays together for so long, because it's not very technical. Last year I did the same and that is the best for this race."

Once Ronhaar made his move, he looked good for victory and entered the final lap with a narrow lead over chasers Eli Iserbyt and Laurens Sweeck. “Two or three laps before the end I saw that Eli was in a gap, then I gave it my all. I felt so strong," he analyses. "Things didn't always go well in the sand, but they did in the last lap. After that, Laurens passed me and I thought: Ah shit, I'm not going to win this again."

“I was stuck in deep mud, but then he stopped it. Just before that, I didn't expect that I was going to knock him. To win like this is even cooler than in Dendermonde,” he laughs. “If Laurens had continued, I might not have gotten over it.”