"The results did not show that I was riding at a good level" - Laurens Sweeck maintains a positive outlook despite lack of wins

Laurens Sweeck hasn't been at the top of his game so far this winter. The 29-year-old is still waiting for his first win of the campaign, although that hasn't dampened his positivity.

“I don't want to focus entirely on that. In itself, the last few weeks have not been bad at all,” says Sweeck in conversation with Wielerflits. “I had a lot of bad luck, so the results did not show that I was riding at a good level. Things went well, especially in the first week after my return. I could have won in Maasmechelen, but I had two punctures there. Suppose I win there, then we might talk differently now.”

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Eli Iserbyt starts feeling the fatigue of packed cyclocross season: "Of course it's part of it"

Last time out at the UCI World Cup in Troyes, the Crelan - Corendon rider finished in sixth behind eventual winner Eli Iserbyt. Looking to explain his lack of results though, Sweeck has an idea. “Maybe I was no longer able to train enough, but that is of course the case for everyone due to the busy calendar. You have to make choices every now and then to get to your best level," he says. "Soon, at the beginning of December, we will go on an internship with the team. That will be good for me to be able to continue training well.”

“Right now I don't feel sick. But I feel like I can't breathe properly. Maybe there is something wrong with my diaphragm, it is tense and that is hindering me," Sweeck continues. "Other than that I have no idea what's going on. Everything was still fine at the team training on Wednesday.”

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“What I mainly lack is some resistance. Being able to go through a wall again. On the other hand, that is also difficult to train. You partly need a little freshness, but you also need to be able to train sufficiently. Everything still has to come together for me, and I hope it happens soon," he concludes. “Quite a lot of riders have already won. The top has become a bit wider, so there is no guarantee that you will be on the podium. That is very nice for cyclocross, but provided I have less bad luck I would still like to participate more.”

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"The competition will have to be 100% to beat her" - Christophe Roodhooft backs Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado to challenge the likes of Van Empel and Pieterse