Vanthourenhout shatters the audacious Dutch World Championship dream: "Fortunately, this cyclo-cross lasted an hour"

This Sunday in Tábor, the Belgian hopes primarily rested on the shoulders of Thibau Nys, Michael Vanthourenhout and Eli Iserbyt. With the risk of a completely Dutch podium, it was up to one of these Belgians to finish in the top three, a feat Vanthourenhout ultimately achieved by holding off Pim Ronhaar in the battle for third place.

Vanthourenhout was thus able to join second-place finisher Joris Nieuwenhuis at the press conference in the Tábor gymnasium. In the first round, things didn't seem to be heading in that direction, as he faded in the traditional start melee. "I started in the second row and Lars van der Haar missed his pedal, so I wasn't in a good spot there."

"Fortunately, it was an hour-long cyclo-cross on a tough course, which eventually allowed me to make it onto the podium," Vanthourenhout said, aware of his position after the race. "Everyone of course hopes for more, but we all know that Mathieu is the big favorite. There wasn't more in it for me. Maybe I could have finished second place, but even that wasn't easy," he complimented Nieuwenhuis's fighting spirit.

"Perhaps silver might have been possible in a certain scenario, but I also knew that a good start would be important. That idea was gone after about ten seconds," he stated realistically, as always. "I put all my energy into this hour, so third was the highest achievable."

Iserbyt: "My body doesn't have more to offer at the moment"

The number five, Iserbyt, voiced a similar sentiment. He had appeared in the mixed zone a bit earlier for an initial reaction. "I had hoped for more, but at the moment, the body doesn't have more to offer. I had a good start, but I already felt in the first half lap that I needed to catch my breath and get into it. I rode a steady race but didn't really have the acceleration I would have liked. We couldn't really work together, but when I saw that Michael was doing well, I did make space for him," said the ideal Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal teammate.