Leonie Bentveld sealed the Netherlands with another gold medal in the women’s under-23 race at the Cyclo-cross World Championships, following an exciting final lap battle with teenager Viktória Chladonová (Slovakia).
Bentveld used her technical ability on the steep descents in Hulst to gain a last-lap lead and then pull out a winning advantage.
Meanwhile, Célia Gery (France) had to settle for bronze after a crash and a bike change dropped her out of the front group.
Chladonová finished with a bronze medal in the junior ranks at the Cyclo-cross World Championships at Tabor two years earlier. The talented youngster made several mistakes on the final lap to finish 11 seconds behind, while Gerry took bronze 57 seconds behind the winner.
“I was constantly seeing [Chladonová], but not really coming closer. Two laps before the end, I saw that I was a little bit faster on the downhill. That was the only opportunity on the last lap.
“I thought ‘all or nothing’ and we’ll see how it ends. She (Chladonová) had a lot of power, but I was a little bit better technically and could ride the good lines. There, you could make a good gap by carrying speed into the next section.
How it unfolded
The fortress city of Hulst, on the Dutch-Belgium border, provided a spectacular backdrop with the 3.3km course containing 150 metres of elevation gain, including steep climbs and descents to test riders’ technical abilities.
The previous day’s action saw how deceptively treacherous the course was, with heavy crashes disrupting the hopes of several elite women contenders.
Sunday morning rain in Hulst resulted in the descents becoming even more slippery, and a crash was…
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