Dyck finishes the cyclocross World Cup in Lignières-en-Berry, France with Canada’s best time of the day

At the sixth cyclocross World Cup of the 2015-16 season in France, Mical Dyck, riding for Naked Racing, turned in Canada’s best time with an 18th place finish.

The men’s competition, meanwhile, saw Red Truck Garneau’s Michael van den Ham finish 45th.

The somewhat muddy, technical course at the sixth World Cup in Lignières-en-Berry made things interesting for riders, which may be an understatement. Overall, at the race’s end, the men’s competition wasn’t able to put a dent in world champion Mathieu Van der Poel, riding for BKCP-Corendon, who capitalized on a powerful surge in the fifth lap to cruise to a solo victory. For Van der Poel, it was the 20-year-old rider’s third consecutive World Cup win, and one that came after a difficult start to the race .

As frustrating as that initial kick-off was, though—a description that Van der Poel himself used—the reigning world champion stuck to his own tempo, allowing him to make a quick comeback as the fifth lap neared. In second place, meanwhile, Wout Van Aert of Crelan-Vastgoedservice rolled to the finish 13 seconds behind van der Poel’s winning time of 1:00:50.

Van Aert’s runner-up status at the race’s end put him four seconds ahead of Giant-Alpecin rider Lars van der Haar, who finished 17 seconds behind the lead.

Hard day at #LignieresWC today, I'm tired!! Not my best ride, but managed my first top 20 at a… https://t.co/AZrt2UG96A

— Mical Dyck (@MicalDyck) January 17, 2016

The Elite women’s competition saw Belgian ‘cross specialist Sanne Cant, riding for Enertherm-BKCP, finish the French course with a time of of :44:03, giving her a 21-second gap over compatriot Ellen Van Loy, riding for VZW Young Telenet Fidea Cycling Team. Rolling to a third-place finish was Italy’s Eva Lechner, competing in Luna Pro colours, who finished the race after a tough battle with Van Loy that saw her four seconds behind, clocking a time of 0:24.

In that women’s competition, Dyck’s 18th-place finish took her across the line 2:36 behind the lead. Van den Ham, meanwhile, was Canada’s top rider in the men’s race, reaching the finish 5:33
behind van der Poel. Aaron Schooler of Focus CX and Mark Mcconnell of Hot Sauce Cycling Club both finished the men’s competitions one lap down.

Elite Women
1 Sanne Cant (Bel) Enertherm – BKCP (0:44:03)
2 Ellen Van Loy (Bel) VZW Young Telenet Fidea Cycling Team (0:21)
3 Eva Lechner (Ita) Luna Pro (0:24)

18 Mical Dyck (Can) Naked Racing (2:36)

Elite Men
1 Mathieu Van der Poel (Ned) Bkcp – Corendon (1:00:50)
2 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental Team (0:13)
3 Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Team Giant – Alpecin (0:17)

45. Michael Van Den Ham (Can) Red Truck Garneau (5:33)