Sweeck took a risk but lost to stronger Nys, Aerts was caught behind a crash and knew it was too late

Thibau Nys has crowned himself the Belgian cyclo-cross champion. Behind the young Baloise Glowi Lions rider, Laurens Sweeck and Toon Aerts claimed well-earned silver and bronze medals. Sweeck took a gamble but ultimately came up short, while Aerts got stuck behind a crash and realized his chances of winning had slipped away.

"In the end, I can live with it. Someone else was simply stronger, so then you have to be satisfied with second place," said runner-up Sweeck in the flash interview. In the penultimate lap, it briefly looked like Sweeck, riding for Crelan-Corendon, had the upper hand when he and Toon Aerts managed to break away. Michael Vanthourenhout and Thibau Nys hesitated, watching each other, which allowed a gap to form.

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The top three finishers during the race

Sweeck took a risk, but lost to stronger Nys

"It was a gamble to push through at that point. I did notice that Thibau was incredibly strong, especially on the last hilly section where he eventually dropped me," Sweeck explained. "Ultimately, the plan was to hope the strongest rider wouldn’t push — that was the only chance to beat him. But the plan didn’t work out, and then you just have to be satisfied with second place."

Sweeck described the race as highly tactical. "It was all about being well-positioned for the second part of the lap, because there were just mistakes being made there. Then it’s best to ride at the front. That was my goal, and I think that’s how I managed to create that split with Aerts. I played my cards, but they just weren’t strong enough."

Sweeck remained realistic. Nys was simply better. "He rode an incredibly strong lap — first by closing the gap, then pulling away. We were all on our limits. If you can still make a difference at that point, you’re delivering a serious blow to your competition," the 31-year-old concluded.

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Aerts could have achieved more without the crash

Toon Aerts rode a strong race and perhaps could have achieved more. Unfortunately, he was caught behind Vanthourenhout’s crash. "In the end, there’s no real disappointment. There was some when I got stuck behind a crash in the penultimate lap. That dropped me to fourth place, and I knew the win was out of reach. In the end, I still fought for the podium. In that moment, there was a bit of frustration because I knew I couldn’t contend for the win anymore," Aerts said in the flash interview.

Did Vanthourenhout really think he could win? "Everything would have had to go perfectly. I could counter Laurens Sweeck’s attack fairly easily, but I couldn’t afford any mistakes, and I made one. After Vanthourenhout’s crash, my chances were completely gone."

Aerts had anticipated a more controlled race. "I expected it to be even more closed, but in the second half of the course, the terrain was so tough and technical that four or five riders constantly managed to break away. Early on, a lot of riders were able to rejoin." To avoid falling into a trap, the 31-year-old rider stayed at the front. "I tried to stick to second or third place and never drop further back. And surprisingly, that went well. Normally, I don’t perform well in these kinds of situations, but today it went well." And that effort earned the Deschacht-Hens-FSP rider a well-deserved bronze medal.

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