Victory for Michael Vanthourenhout as Toon Aerts denied first win since return after heart-breaking last lap crash at World Cup Namur

The Namur course never fails to deliver a spectacle and after a thrilling edition of the World Cup Namur round on Sunday afternoon, Michael Vanthourenhout has taken the victory ahead of Toon Aerts and Emiel Verstrynge in an incredibly exciting finale.

From the start, the race was immediately blown up over the first few sections with World Cup leader Michael Vanthourenhout notably far down in the pack. At the front meanwhile, Toon Aerts, Kevin Kuhn and Joran Wyseure in particular had got off to a flying start.

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Sadly for Aerts though, as he looked to continue pressing the pace on lap 2, on the off-camber section the Belgian lost his footing and spectacularly slid off course through the barriers. Although he climbed back up and remounted, the incident had left Aerts much further down in the pack, crossing the line for the end of lap 2 in 6th, around 15 seconds back.

Another big name in trouble was Eli Iserbyt. The Belgian national champion was in so much pain, he abandoned the race on lap 3. At the same time, Iserbyt's teammate, Vanthourenhout had worked himself back up through the field and into the lead.

The brutality of the course was having a massive effect on the field as the TV cameras cut to rider after rider being sent head over heels following crashes. The trio of Vanthourenhout, Wyseure and Emiel Verstrynge were looking incredibly good though and starting to ride clear from the rest of the race through lap 4. 

As the impressive Aerts got back into contact on lap 5 though, Verstrynge took to the front and began to put the hammer down again, gaining a gap in the lead, although Vanthourenhout was working hard to stay in touch. As he crossed the line for the end of lap 6, Verstrynge's lead over Vanthourenhout was 6 seconds with Aerts 13 seconds down in third place. 

On lap 7 though, the rain began to fall, offering another challenge for the riders to overcome. It seemed, Vanthourenhout sensed an opportunity as well as he powered back to Verstrynge and then took over control at the front of the race. Despite Vanthourenhout's acceleration though, Aerts did eventually get back into contact at the front on the penultimate lap.

With the fatigue really beginning to tell, it was Aerts who led the leading trio over the line as they took the bell. Vanthourenhout popped into the pits to change bikes, but notably, Verstrynge and Aerts chose not to. Instead, Verstrynge put down a brutal acceleration. Sadly for the young Belgian though, it seemed as if it had been a last-gasp move as Aerts countered and powered clear solo himself. With Verstrynge dropping away, Vanthourenhout hadn't given up just yet, burying himself in chase of Aerts and as the leader crashed on the off-camber section again, Vanthourenhout surged past and into the lead and to the race victory.

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