Van der Heijden and Vandeputte take victory at Exact Cross Kortrijk
On the first of several double-decker weekends featuring at least one World Cup round, victories were taken by Inge van der Heijden and Niels Vandeputte at Kortrijk on Saturday afternoon, in round four of the seven-race Exact Cross series.
After skipping the trip to Sardinia for last weekend's World Cup, European Champion Van der Heijden was finally able to win in her bright and shiny new jersey after a dominant performance from the opening lap, eventually taking the win ahead of teammate and Belgian national champ Marion Norbert Riberolle, the only rival within a minute of the winner.
The men's race was a much more competitive affair, the strong field taking advantage of every last moment before the return of the world champion at Sunday's World Cup Namur. It took until the final lap for the trio of Niels Vandeputte, Cameron Mason and Ryan Kamp to split off the lead group, and in the end, finished in that order.
Elite women's top 5
- Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) 50:44
- Marion Norbert Riberolle (Crelan-Corendon) +0:18
- Julie Brouwers (Charles Liégeois Roastery CX) +1:11
- Hélène Clauzel +1:42
- Jinse Peeters (De Ceuster-Bouwpunt) +2:04
Elite men's top 5
- Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 58:40
- Cameron Mason (Seven Racing) +0:03
- Ryan Kamp +0:11
- Anton Ferdinande +0:15
- Yorben Lauryssen (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez) +0:19
