Tibor Del Grosso wins thrilling showdown over Wout van Aert in Heusden-Zolder

Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) claimed his first major televised elite cyclocross win after outsprinting Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) in the sprint to the line in Heusden-Zolder in the fifth round of the Superprestige series. 

The under-23 World Champion and elite Dutch champion, outsprinted Van Aert, who had won the previous three editions at Heusden Zolder, after the duo pulled clear from a large front group of riders. Behind, Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) won the sprint for third ahead of Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

In the overall standings of the Superprestige, it’s Vandeputte who leads Vanthourenhout by one point with three rounds remaining.

It was Del Grosso who opened the race up early and drew clear with Felipe Orts (Ridley Racing Team) and Kevin Kuhn (Heizomat-Cube) on the opening lap, meanwhile, Van Aert lost some positions due to the ripple effects of a crash in the pack.

On the second lap, the Spanish champion Orts was distanced from the front duo, as Del Grosso continued to set a relentless pace.

Heading into lap three, Van Aert hit the front of the big chase pack, wary of the fifteen-second gap that the Dutch and Swiss Champion held. It took until the end of the lap, but Van Aert’s efforts were able to bring the front duo back.

Van Aert chose lap five as the moment to try and split the front group of ten riders, with the Dutch Champion Del Grosso in the Belgian’s wheel.

Onto the long home straight, only Del Grosso was still with Van Aert, as the Belgian used his engine to open up the gap to the rest of the group. Del Grosso then took the front, pushing the pace and putting pressure on Van Aert, which the Belgian was able to respond to.

It came down to the final lap, and Van Aert launched a big attack shortly after the pits, but Del Grosso remained calm and composed in the wheel. 

The Dutch champion was tactically astute, remaining on the wheel of Van Aert ahead of a headwind home straight, and in the end, timed his sprint to perfection.