Van der Haar couldn't compete against dominant Belgian squad: "That was my downfall"

Facing an overwhelming Belgian front, Lars van der Haar knew it would be challenging to claim the European cyclo-cross title. Ultimately, Thibau Nys was too strong for the 32-year-old Dutchman, who had to settle for fifth place. On the fast course in Spain, that was the best he could achieve, according to himself.

"I really gave it my all," he told Dutch broadcast NOS. "In the end, you know it gets tough. When you've been at the front for so long, you don’t have enough left to put in a serious final lap. I had hoped to sprint for the podium, but they were just too strong." After a strong opening phase where Van der Haar put in a lot of work, he was boxed in by the overpowering Belgians.

On the not-so-difficult course in Pontevedra, the former European champion couldn’t keep up when Nys and Spaniard Felipe Orts broke away. "It actually went exactly as I expected. I thought at one point I’d take the initiative after I had to chase, but in that lap, I felt I was strong, but not strong enough to keep it up. Then the next attacks came, and you have to react immediately. Normally, that’s fine for me, but when I got there, Eli (Iserbyt, ed.) took the lead. We jumped over the barriers. Then you have Eli on your wheel again, and you have to take the lead again. That was really my downfall."

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Van der Haar had to let his teammate Thibau Nys take the win

Van der Haar is exhausted: "I led almost the entire race"

With Iserbyt beside him, he hoped in vain for some help. "At one point, I gambled that Eli would still want a podium spot and start riding a bit, but that didn’t last long, so then you know it’s going to be difficult." Nys, Van der Haar's teammate at Baloise Trek Lions, became champion. "It's really great for him, of course, but I obviously wanted to win. I didn’t hold back just because he’s my teammate. I did everything I could to win today. I just didn’t have the legs, and we didn’t have enough guys to fight this squad."

Earlier in the week, Van der Haar won the Koppenbergcross, but on Sunday, it was his teammate who triumphed. "But he gets to wear that jersey for a year," the Dutchman laughed. "I really did my best, like I said, I led almost the entire race. In the end, I have to be satisfied with fifth place. It’s a shame I fell. I wanted to sprint for that fourth position, but I just couldn't anymore." Silver medalist Orts received praise from his competitor. "Impressive. I expected him here because you can’t just shake him off your wheel. I think he’s one of the best at handling his bike. He can’t set the pace on the straight, but if he’s on your wheel, you can’t get rid of him. What he did here is very impressive and great for Spanish cyclo-cross."

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