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The rain came down in buckets in Heusden-Zolder when the U23 women and Elite women lined up for the pinnacle event of the season and the chance to win the highest honour in cyclocross: the rainbow jersey.
The night before the event, the skies opened up for a relentless deluge. What had been a fast and dry course the day before had now turned into a slippery, sloppy mess.
The 2016 UCI World Cyclocross Championships saw the debut of a women’s Under-23 category, open to all female athletes ages 17 to 22 and with a prize purse equal to that of their male counterparts (880 Euros for the win). It was British rider Evie Richards who won the inaugural event, followed by Nikola Noskova of the Czech Republic and Maud Kaptheijns of Netherlands.
The women’s Elite race followed that of the U23 women and it was a highly anticipated one. With no returning world champions and no lack of race favourites, the race was always going to be a highly competitive, the varying course conditions only added to the race dynamics. And the racing certainly did not disappoint. In the end, it was self proclaimed “roadie” Thalita de Jong who took the win. French rider Caroline Mani had a fantastic ride to earn silver and race-favourite Sanne Cant barely managed to hang in for third. Relive the action in our race report here and through the lens of Kristof Ramon below.
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- Evie Richards of Great Britain on her way to becoming the very first ever U23 Women’s World ChampionWomen U23 RaceUCI 2016 cyclocross World Championships
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- It was a mudfest
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- Femke Van den Driessche pictured here before she dropped out with a mechanical. Her bike was screened by the UCI during the race and she is currently under investigation for mechanical doping
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- Alice Maria Arzuffi of Italy splashing in the mud in the women’s U23 race
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- Hiding under umbrellas at the start, all eyes were on Belgian Sanne Cant who –as the number one ride in the world, a multi-times national champion, European champion and two-time World Cup series winner — went into this race in front of a home crowd as the clear favourite.
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- A wet yet colourful startline for the Women’s Elite race
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- Mani ahead of Sanne Cant in muddy Heusden-Zolder.
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- After a poor start, Thalita de Jong was powering ahead, making up ground fast.
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- One of the fun vantage points along the course
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- Just before hitting the final lap. She joined, she led, she attacked. And gone she was. Going hard just before the final climbing section of the course, none of the four lead riders were able to respond. Cant tried but couldn’t match De Jong’s sustained power. De Jong crossed the line solo.
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- Smiles of disbelief for “roadie” Thalita de Jong
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- Known for her facial expressions, Mani put in one last big effort to drop her peers and came around the bend alone, screaming “oh my god!” as she crossed the finish line in 2nd place at the 2016 UCI Cyclocross World Championships.
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- Race favourite Sanne Cant comes in devastated with 3rd place.
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- Sophie de Boer gave it her all in a sprint finish for third, which she lost to Sanne Cant
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- Elite Women’s podium.
