The Cyclocross National Champions for 2023 were crowned this weekend across Europe, with many of the races taking place in perfect conditions – rain and mud. Cyclingnews brings a synopsis of the champions from the elite, under-23 and junior categories.
In Belgium , the heart of cyclocross, fans turned out in droves to witness Michael Vanthourenhout taking his first title over Laurens Sweeck , while Sanne Cant added to her record to complete 14 straight women’s championship victories.
In the Netherlands , Puck Pieterse and Lars van der Haar slogged through the deep mud of Zaltbommel to take the elite titles, while in France , Clément Venturini (AG2R Citroën) called his fifth victory there "a huge satisfaction".
"I have struggled a bit the past few weeks with a tough schedule. I did it that way to challenge myself against the best so that I could progress more, and that has paid off today," Venturnin said. "Fabien (Doubey) was very strong, but I didn’t give up until the end. I used my strengths on the most difficult parts to impose myself."
Hélène Clauzel overcame a long history of near-misses to take the women’s elite race. "This jersey had to be mine one day!", she said. "I will have it in Besançon [World Cup] in two weeks, that means a lot to me. I can already imagine! It’s special Besançon, it’s like home… I dreamed about it, I thought about it for months and I finally managed to have it, it’s just magic."
She had […]
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