They might be two of the older statesmen of the pro CX circuit but that didn't stop @TomMeeusen 🇧🇪 and @larsvanderhaar 🇳🇱 from putting it all on the line (quite literally) in the sprint for third 🥉 at the #Krawatencross in Lille!
Veteran battle for the podium as Van der Haar and Meeusen have a photofinish sprint in Lille
CyclocrossSunday, 06 February 2022 at 17:22
As Toon Aerts flew into a big win the Lille Krawatencross behind a more exciting finale took place, as Lars van der Haar and Tom Meeusen wrapped of their day in dramatic fashion.
The 7th round of the X20 Trofee was marked by the complicated weather conditions which made the technical track in Lille even more complicated than the normal. Aerts went solo early on and won the race, and behind as several riders cracked, two veterans in Lars van der Haar and Tom Meeusen came to the fore and ended up having a head-to-head sprint all the way to the line for the last podium spot.
Van der Haar, 31, has had a stellar season after getting back to what is a great period of form that reminisce of his golden years in which he won the world cup back in the 2013-2014 season and has racked up his 14th podium of the season, which includes wins at the National and European championships aswell as a runner-up spot at the World championships.
The European champion said after the finish: "Yeah I'm very surprised [with the podium] as Michael [Vanthourenhout] would've normally been there, but yeah when the chances are there you have to go for it and I did."
"I didn't wanna go from the front because I knew it was difficult with Meeusen, but he went and I felt I could beat him. But then I went out of my pedal, but quickly got it back and started sprinting again, I saw he was dropping a lot of speed and I got him with a big jump," Van der Haar said regarding the sprint.
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Meeusen, 34, is past the prime of his career but the passion remains and days like today show that the legs are still capable of some very impressive results. His last podium was at the C2 GP Leuven back in November. He has been on the Elite ranks since 2010 and in the last few years he hasn't been able to achieve the same results that he used to on his pre-2018 results, but he will take great motivation from this performance, which consolidated his 4th place in the X2O Trofee.
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