Results CX World Cup Terralba: Michael Vanthourenhout launches decisive last-lap attack to win five-man thriller in Sardinia

Michael Vanthourenhout returned to the top step of a World Cup podium with a razor-sharp final-lap move in Terralba, out-kicking Joris Nieuwenhuis and Laurens Sweeck in a tense five-rider showdown on the Sardinian mud.

After more than an hour of racing without a single successful breakaway, the Belgian finally made the winning difference on the final climb of the circuit.

For eight of the nine laps, the race refused to split. Nieuwenhuis repeatedly tried to prise the group apart with accelerations in the sand and water-logged straights, while Vanthourenhout matched him stroke for stroke. Pim Ronhaar, Laurens Sweeck and Ryan Kamp all took turns at the front, but every surge was neutralised and the lead group remained unusually large deep into the race.

By the start of the penultimate lap, the front of the race had solidified around a tight cluster of riders. Vanthourenhout, Nieuwenhuis and Ronhaar continued to shape the tempo, Sweeck shadowed the trio with sharp positioning, and Kamp rode himself back into contention after repeatedly dangling just off the back. Even with the mud deepening and the pace lifting, the decisive moment would not arrive.

With two laps to go, the tension finally spiked. A crash for Joran Wyseure reduced the group, and a brief reshuffle allowed Kamp to make it five riders still legitimately fighting for victory: Vanthourenhout, Nieuwenhuis, Sweeck, Vandeputte and Kamp. The course layout — narrow sectors, slow mud, and few clean passing zones — meant that position suddenly mattered more than raw power.

Vanthourenhout understood that immediately. As the bell rang, he moved to the front and began controlling the pace, knowing that overtaking would be almost impossible unless the group hit the final technical climb in single file.

The final lap became a sequence of feints and counters. Nieuwenhuis surged past the Belgian pair to try to seize control; Sweeck then dived past to regain second wheel; Vanthourenhout responded by slipping back into first position ahead of the final climb. Every corner became a battle for centimetres.

Then came the winning move. Vanthourenhout launched an explosive acceleration at the foot of the last steep rise, sprinting clear of Nieuwenhuis and Sweeck, who both hesitated for a fraction too long. The gap opened instantly and proved terminal.

Vanthourenhout powered across the line alone to claim a richly earned victory, dropping to his bars with visible relief. Nieuwenhuis, who had animated the race from the opening lap, settled for second, while Sweeck completed the podium after an intelligent, aggressive ride that saw him fighting for the win until the final metres.