In a wet and difficult edition, home favorites Lukas Malezsewski and Zinni Van Looy cheered the home crowd with the podium.
Source: press release
A rainy day started with a bang, thanks to the local boy Lukas Malezsewski, former European junior champion in XCO. The 21-year-old Belgian set the best time in qualifying time trials and continued to perform consistently in all heats. He was one of the two Belgian talents to reach the final, along with Zinni Van Looy.
In the grand final, again on wet obstacles and slippery cobbled streets, 33-year-old expert Simon Gegenheimer made the perfect race, controlling from start to finish and beating Malezsewski in a tight uphill sprint. Frenchman Lorenzo Serres had to settle for fourth place after a crash in the final, which gave the young Van Looy his first ever UCI World Cup podium.
UCI World Cup leader Titouan Perrin-Ganier did not make it to the big final, but he still managed to keep his leader's jersey thanks to a victory in the small final. In the overall standings, the Frenchman has a margin of 17 points over Gegenheimer.
Tormena wins again
After losing the win due to a crash in the opening round in Abu Dhabi, Gaia Tormena returned to winning in Leuven. 'Torpedo Tormena' achieved the best time in qualifying time trials, achieved an easy win in the quarter and semifinals and controlled the grand final from start to finish, beating Ella Holmegard (SWE) and Didi de Vries (NLD ). German Marion Fromberger is fourth. Alice Imbert (FRA) was a surprising fifth, winning the small final.
A crash knocked the Brazilian UCI World Cup leader out of the quarter-finals, but Marcela Lima kept her smile. She is now in second place in the UCI World Cup standings, 48 points behind the new leader, Tormena. De Vries is third in the general classification.
Post-race quotes
"Of course it's good to be back”, Tormena enjoyed the victory. "I don't really like the rain, but you have to adapt to the conditions as they are. Racing twice in Valkenswaard in rainy conditions earlier was a lesson for today. After Abu Dhabi, I was a little afraid of falling again. I had to fight with that fear, but the feeling was good enough and I had a strong focus. It's nice to win again, as always".
"With rain and a long finish, it was a different track than last year“, Analyzed the reigning winner Simon Gegenheimer. "But the tactic has remained the same: to be in front of every race, from the beginning, to control and slow down the race. And then there was the long finish, where you had to keep it until the end. I did it perfectly, but my legs burned. It was tough, but I enjoy racing in Belgium every time I'm here".
MALE ARRIVAL ORDER
| Rank | Rider | Country | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEGENHEIMER Simon |  GER | 34 |
| 2 | MALEZSEWSKI Lukas |  BEL | 21 |
| 3 | VAN LOOY Zinni | BEL | 20 |
| 4 | SERRES Lorenzo |  From | 24 |
| 5 | PERRIN GANIER Titouan | From | 31 |
FEMALE ARRIVAL ORDER
- Gaia Tormena (ITA)
- Ella Holmesgard (SWE)
- Didi de Vries (NLD)
- Marion Fromberger (GER)
- Alice Imbert (FRA)
