An first all-orange day, at the cyclocross world championships in Ostend. The Belgians had carefully prepared the race course. They had trained on a very different course from the usual ones, made extremely difficult not only by the sand, not only by the long stretch on the shore, but also by the rain that forced the organizers to even drain the water in the final part. All useless, the Dutch national team called the shots: 5 medals out of 6 available and above all two world titles already in the bag, waiting for “His Majesty” Van der Poel.
Alvarado out
Between the two races, under 23 and elite women, the latter was the most emotional, right from the start, when at the first corner the defending champion Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado cracked the bici also slowing down Belgian Sanne Cant, who had carefully prepared the race and who was counting on making a splash on the sand.
The two they lost positions without being able to regain the top spot, while Denise Betsema put her favorite tactic into practice: a first lap at full speed to create a gap. A tactic that worked until almost halfway through the race, but Brand had something more especially on the sand (during the week she had trained with her male colleagues on this very element) and in the third of the 5 laps she caught her. Only with her Annemarie Worst was there too, almost impalpable throughout the season, but extremely effective when it really mattered.
Brand, it was about time
Three women, all orange, playing for victory in the last lap: the Betsema was the first flame to go out, the other two were ready to play everything in the sprint and Worst seemed to be the freshest physically, but not so mentally. In fact they were two errors of pure concentration, with 4 corners to go, jeopardising a sprint that at that point was of uncertain outcome.
For Brand, 31, with two world road gold medals (but in team events) and three world championship podiums in cyclo-cross in the last three years, the consecration comes after exponential growth, especially since the end of December.
«For years I've seen this shirt slip away by a hair's breadth – she said not without tears upon arrival – but I always believed in it, I wasn't worried even when Betsema attacked. I knew that the race was long and tough, especially after seeing the under 23s."
Ronhaar Seagull
Yes, the youth test, also this one all orange, but not with the expected epilogue. Defending champion Ryan Kamp made too many mistakes, who slipped twice on the steps leading to the bridge due to incorrect trajectory. His compatriot was much more orderly. Pim Ronhaar, not at all afraid of the initial Belgian offensive, five of the top eight at the finish but worn down by the pace imposed by their rival. Kamp wisely put aside personal ambitions, covering his teammate (who at the start crosses the finish line mimicking the flight of a seagull) and settling for the silver.
Out of 10
For Italy, the "curse of 11th place". In this context, having achieved a Top 10 would have given the blue shipping another meaning, but first Fontana (who was also the second out of the holy alliance Holland-Belgium, beaten only by the British Turner who did little to alleviate the debacle of his team) and then Lechner, who started strangely worse than Arzuffi (finished 14th) arrived within a stone's throw of the minimum target.
«They did what they could on a very cold day and on a course that doesn't spare you – commented Coach Fausto Scotti – we insisted a lot with Eva, encouraging her especially in the final. Fontana was theoretically worth more, even a 5th-6th place. He should dedicate himself completely to the discipline, but he also has the right ambitions in MTBHere we're tilting at windmills, between sand and wet grass, it only takes a moment and you're down. Worst lost the World Championship due to a distraction and you can't afford it here."
Tomorrow the final apotheosis, the Van der Poel-Van Aert duel, will be won by whoever makes the fewest mistakes.
