Vanthourenhout strengthens his lead in the World Cup after winning in Namur

Namur set the stage for another thrilling battle among the men. Despite a challenging start, it was the overall leader, Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), who secured the victory. Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens) and the surprising Emiel Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon) completed the podium, while Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen) had to abandon the race.

Toon Aerts got off to the fastest start, entering the field in the lead. Soon, Gerben Kuypers and Kevin Kuhn, the riders from Charles Liégeois Roastery, took over at the front and set the pace.

In the second lap, Kuypers and Kuhn were still leading, with Aerts in their wheel. However, Aerts made a mistake on the off-camber section, sliding off the course. Fortunately, it wasn’t too serious, and he managed to rejoin the leaders later on.

Michael Vanthourenhout also struggled at the start but managed to bridge the gap to the front of the race by the fourth lap.

In the sixth lap, Verstrynge gained a few meters following a slip-up by Aerts and Vanthourenhout. The young talent led solo until the end of the seventh lap but was caught again at the start of the penultimate lap.

Heading into the final lap, Toon Aerts attacked on the climb, quickly building a lead of about 5 seconds over Vanthourenhout. Aerts seemed poised for his first win since his suspension, but a mistake on the off-camber section allowed Vanthourenhout to close the gap. Aerts lost his momentum and was unable to recover, leaving Vanthourenhout to take his second victory in a row after Dublin.

In the overall standings, Michael Vanthourenhout holds a solid lead over Toon Aerts and Laurens Sweeck.