Reigning women’s cyclocross world champion Thalita de Jong (Rabo-Liv) shook off an early fall to take the fifth round of the Hansgrohe Superprestige at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on Saturday, December 3.
De Jong, who also holds the Dutch and European championship jerseys, was among four riders to lead from the start, including Belgian champion Sanne Cant (Enertherm-Beobank), who is fresh off a World Cup win in Zeven, Germany last week, Christine Majerus (Boels-Dolmans) and Ellen Van Loy (Young Telenet-Fidea).
A crash during a descent on the second lap dropped de Jong to fourth, but the 23-year-old Dutch cyclist was able to claw her way back and win in dominant fashion after gapping her lead rivals in the latter half of the race to win in a time of 45 minutes 42 seconds.
[twitter url=”https://twitter.com/sporza/status/805044123547947008″]
“That fall came firmly,” De Jong said afterwards. “I needed some time to catch my breath. I tried to regain focus and avoid new mistakes. I got back to Sanne and Christine and then I just rode my own race.
“It turned out to be enough to make a difference.”
The win marks de Jong’s first Superprestige victory of the season, as Cant, who has won three of the first five rounds, takes second over Luxembourger Majerus in third, Belgian Van Loy in fourth and American Elle Anderson in fifth.
Only three rounds remain, with the next Superprestige in Diegem scheduled for December 23.
Results
- 1. Thalita DE JONG, (NED), 45:42
- 2. Sanne CANT, (BEL), +00:13
- 3. Christine MAJERUS, (LUX), +00:25
- 4. Ellen VAN LOY, (BEL), +00:55
- 5. Elle ANDERSON, (USA), +01:34
- 6. Geerte HOEKE, (NED), +02:36
- 7. Karen VERHESTRAETEN, (BEL), +02:47
- 8. Alice Maria ARZUFFI, (ITA), +02:48
- 9. Githa MICHIELS, (BEL), +03:16
- 10. Loes SELS, (BEL), +03:27
- 11. Bianca VAN DEN HOEK, (NED), +03:41
- 12. Asa Maria ERLANDSSON, (SWE), +03:44
- 13. Eva Maria PALM, (BEL), +03:47
- 14. Julia BOSCHKER, (NED), +04:15
- 15. Pauline DELHAYE, (FRA), +04:36
- 16. Jolien VERSCHUEREN, (BEL), +04:36
- 17. Irene GERRITSEN, (NED), +05:56
- 18. Julie VAN DE VELDE, (BEL), +07:03
- 19. Axelle BELLAERT, (BEL), +08:34