Wout van Aert has won his first cyclocross race in the Belgian tricolor. Van Aert was the strongest in the sand in the Zilvermeercross in Mol and therefore had a good rehearsal for the World Cup in Oostende (31 January). Laurens Sweeck came second. Many top riders sent their cat to Mol, which is not a classification cross and some of them had financial demands who could not be met by the organisers in Mol…They have it already difficult with no income of spectators due to Covid-19
The Belgian champion was the sky-high favorite in the sand, but after a lightning-fast start by Van der Haar, he immediately had to make up a few places. That worked well and he chose the wheel of sand devil Sweeck. The right choice, because Sweeck took the reins at the start of round 2.
The rest of the pack was shaken off with Soete as the last survivor, then it became a battle between the current and the previous Belgian champion. Van Aert tried to put pressure on Sweeck in the sand and it finally cracked in lap six. Meanwhile, the snow started to drift down, but that did not bother Van Aert. He started a great solo and eventually collected almost a minute on Sweeck. The battle for third place lasted a little longer. Van der Haar was only able to catch David van der Poel (brother of Mathieu) one and a half rounds from the end. With this victory in his pocket, Van Aert now goes on a training period with only one goal: the World Cup in the sand of Oostende


1 Wout van Aert
2 Laurens Sweeck
3 Lars van der Haar
4 David van der Poel
5 Jens Adams
6 Daan Soete
7 Diether Sweeck
8 Corné van Kessel
9 Tom Meeusen
10 Jelle Camps

Lucinda Brand has won the Zilvermeercross in Mol, the Dutch superstar was slightly stronger in the soft sand of the Zilvermeer than her compatriot Denise Betsema. Marianne Vos was the third to join the podium. With the World Championships in Oostende coming up, many riders saw this cross as a dress rehearsal. Still Sanne Can’t and world champion Alvarado let this practice gallop go. Verdonschot had to uphold the Belgian honor to the defending champion but never came to the front due to the Dutch power girls. Betsema felt in her element and immediately imposed a scorching pace. In the end we got the expected battle and Brand and Betsema entered the final lap together.
Brand took over the lead at the right moment and Betsema couldn’t get past it. The Dutch podium was completed by a strong Marianne Vos. GEOGHEGAN MICHELLE was 43rd


1 Lucinda Brand (NL)
2 Denise Betsema (NL)
3 Marianne Vos (NL)
4 Manon Bakker (NL)
5 Yara Kastelijn(NL)
6 Puck Pieterse (NL)
7 Laura Verdonschot (First Belgian)
8 Clara Honsinger (USA)
9 Aniek Van Alphen (NL)
10 Fem van Empel (NL)