Toon Aerts pockets Superprestige despite an off day, Laurens Sweeck is strongest in Middelkerke

Sweeck dedicates victory to deceased father-in-law
The three of the men from Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal committed a coup in the opening round. Laurens Sweeck and Michael Vanthourenhout took their “leader” Eli Iserbyt in tow, but the European champion did not have his day. Toon Aerts also gave up on the animals in the pursuit. He missed his start completely and seemed to lose the overall victory for a while. But Iserbyt was unable to follow his teammates, despite attempts by manager Jurgen Mettepenningen to keep things together. Sweeck initially had some difficulty with the plow tactics in the front. When Iserbyt had to let go, he shifted up a gear, to finish it with force majeure.
Iserbyt eventually became 3rd, Aerts, who found his second breath finished 6th and done enough to take the title
The two tenors Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert were no longer at the start. They retired last weekend after the World Cup in Ostend and are preparing for the classics on the road.

Result last round: 1 Laurens Sweeck 59’49”
2 Michael Vanthourenhout +1″
3 Eli Iserbyt +52″
4 Corné van Kessel +1’23”
5 Lars van der Haar 1’51”
6 Toon Aerts +2’07”
7 Felipe Orts Lloret +2’20”
8 Quinten Hermans +2’37”
9 Niels Vandeputte +2’43”
10 Kevin Kuhn +2’43”

Superprestige winner 2020-2021: Toon Aerts (Bel) 99 pts
2. Eli Iserbyt (Bel) 97
3. Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) 94
4. Laurens Sweeck (Bel) 93
5. Lars van der Haar (Ned) 89
6. Corné van Kessel (Ned) 83
7. Daan Soete (Bel) 48
8. Quinten Hermans (Bel) 44
9. Ryan Kamp (Ned) 39
10. Felipe Orts Lloret (Spa) 35

Denise to strong on the day at the coast of Belgium

The North Sea Cross could not start worse for Lucinda Brand. In the opening round, the brand new world champion hit the ground in a corner, after which she misjudged a long strip of sand completely. Brand, visibly not happy on the grueling course, did not panic despite a fall back to 13th place. She already knew that the victory would no longer be there, but in the end, she quickly moved towards the podium. From the second lap, the sharp Dutch settled without too many problems with her compatriot Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, who never really came into the wheel.

Result Middelkerke: 1 Denise Betsema NL 49’29”
2 Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado NL +33″
3 Lucinda Brand NL +1’08”
4 Manon Bakker NL+1’32”
5 Yara Kastelijn NL +1’54”
6 Sanne Cant BEL +2’27”
7 Marion Norbert Riberolle FR +2’36”
8 Inge van der Heijden NL +2’47”
9 Aniek Van Alphen NL+2’53”
10 Puck Pieterse NL +3’41”

Superprestige vrouwen 2020-2021 1st. Lucinda Brand (Ned) 114 points
2nd. Ceylin Alvarado (Ned) 112
3rd. Denise Betsema (Ned) 101
4th. Yara Kastelijn (Ned) 83
5th. Annemarie Worst (Ned) 79
6th. Manon Bakker (Ned) 76
7th. Sanne Cant (Bel)55
8th. Aniek van Alphen (Ned) 41
9th. Anna Kay (GBr) 36
10th. Laura Verdonschot 35