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“Captain” Maud Kaptheijns captures first cyclocross World Cup

Unstoppable van der Poel claims a World Cup natural hat trick at Koksijde

October 22, 2017
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Dutchwoman Maud Kaptheijns translated her recent Superprestige series domination into her first UCI cyclocross World Cup victory on Sunday. She crushed the competition at the third round in cold, windy Koksijde, Belgium. In the men’s race, Mathieu van der Poel (The Netherlands) continued to boss the elite men, going three for three in the World Cup. He has also earned two of the three Superprestige races this season.


The Women’s Race
Kaptheijns grabbed the hole shot, although Lucinda Brand (The Netherlands) came by her to lead through the giant sand pit. Kaptheijns took over point position on the first 3.1-km lap, with last year’s World Cup winner Sophie de Boer nine-seconds back and American Kaitlin Keough, runner-up at both Iowa and Wisconsin, in third place.

De Boer and Keough were still 2nd and 3rd after two laps, but world champion Sanne Cant had to make her way through the field.

Kaptheijns led by 50-seconds going into the bell lap. De Boer had second position while Cant had to battle Katie Compton (USA) and Loes Sels (Belgium) for the last podium spot. After Compton got bogged down in the sand, Cant did well to dispatch Sels, making sure she was on all three World Cup podiums so far this season and therefore taking over the World Cup lead from absent Katerina Nash (Czech Republic).


Kaptheijns has won all three Superprestige races including Saturday’s Niels Albert contest. She was also runner-up to Compton in the only DVV Verzekeringen Trofee race this season.



The Men’s Race
There were questions about Mathieu van der Poel’s right arm and shoulder after his crash in Saturday’s Superprestige race, but he led up the first carry-up. Van Aert and Toon Aerts (Belgium) joined van der Poel in pulling away on Lap 1. Van der Poel and Van Aert completed the first lap in 7:11 with Aerts just behind.

Van der Poel nudged ahead of his Belgian rival in the long sand section of Lap 2 of nine, seven-seconds clear by the line with Laurens Sweeck and Michael van der Haar in close pusuit. Sweeck and Van der Haar to reeled in Van Aert on Lap 3 and the trio were 20-seconds in arrears.

In Lap 5’s sand pit Sweeck and van der Haar began to pull out a gap on Van Aert, winner of Saturday’s Superprestige race.


Van Aert recovered quickly, pulled in Sweeck and van der Haar and then went to the front of the chase. Although van der Poel was 40-seconds clear after six laps, Van Aert had narrowed it to 30-seconds after seven. Van der Poels fastest lap, 6:47, reestablished the 40-second gap.

Van Aert suffered a mechanical before Lap 8’s sand field and Sweeck grabbed him again. Van Aert’s bike change–the World Champion having to turn back into traffic to get into the pits–put him back into fourth, as van der Haar made it back to Sweeck.


Both van der Haar and Van Aert left Sweeck behind on the bell lap. Van der Haar added a World Cup runner-up spot to two Superprestige podiums and a win in the first DVV Trofee contest on October 8.

The next World Cup round is November 19 in Bogense, Denmark.

UCI Cyclocross World Cup #3 Koksijde Elite Women
1) Maud Kaptheijns (The Netherlands/Crelan-Charles)
2) Sophie de Boer (The Netherlands/Breepark.nl) +0:52
3) Sanne Cant (Belgium/Beobank-Corendon) +1:27

UCI Cyclocross World Cup #3 Koksijde Elite Men
1) Mathieu van der Poel (The Netherlands/Beobank-Corendon) 1:02:40
2) Lar van der Haar (The Netherlands/Telenet Fidea Lions) +0:39
3) Wout Van Aert (Belgium/Crelan-Charles) +0:50