Published November 20, 2016 07:48AM
Extreme weather causes Koksijde Cyclocross World Cup cancellation
UCI Cyclocross World Cup race in Koksijde called off due to raging storms sweeping across northern Belgium.
Van der Poel rode to third place at the 2015 Koksijde cyclocross race. Photo: Tim De Waele | <a href=http://www.tdwsport.com target="_blank">TDWsport.com</a>
Heavy rain and wind gusts in excess of 90kph swept across northern Belgium causing the Koksijde round of the Telenet UCI Cyclocross World Cup to be cancelled in the early morning hours on Sunday prior to a full lineup of races, which included junior, under-23 (men) and men’s and women’s elite.
After first cancelling the junior and U23 races, the UCI made an official announcement via social media stating all events would be called off.
The 22-year-old reigning world champion and current series leader Wout van Aert (Crelan-Vastgoedservice) also took to Twitter to voice his support in the decision to cancel the race.
Overall series standings remain in tact with van Aert in first place in the elite men’s division with 230 points, followed by fellow Belgians Laurens Sweeck (ERA-Circus) in second (174) and Michael Vanthourenhout (Marlux-Napoleon Games) in third (166).
Dutch cyclist Sophie de Boer currently tops the elite women’s series standings with 198 points, with French rider Caroline Mani in second (173) and American Amanda Miller (Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling) in third (157).
The next round of the World Cup series is scheduled for Zeven, Germany in less than a week (November 26).