And the win in the men's Kasteelcross is for Tim Merlier - his attack with 2 laps to go did it.
Ryan Kamp in 2nd at 9secs, David van der Poel in 3rd at 14secs and Vincent Baestaens in 4th.
After Merlier had taken off the fight for the podium spots was pretty entertaining as well. Expect an entirely different course and all the big names lining up at tomorrow's Worldcup race in Benidorm, Spain.
#Zonnebeke #cyclocross

A bit of drama for Tim Merlier as the race leader in the men's Kasteelcross seems to be riding on a rear tire that is losing air. Can he keep it together?
David van der Poel, Ryan Kamp and Vinnie Baestaens seem to focus for the battle for 2nd and 3rd already. And Merlier gets a fresh bike in the tech zone.
#Zonnebeke #cyclocross

Tim Merlier back into the lead now and with a small gap to Kamp, D. van der Poel and Baestaens. This is a serious attack and a bid for the win in the men's Kasteelcross in #Zonnebeke. Still a bit more than one lap to go however. Going into the final lap, Merlier has a lead of 14secs over his chasers. #cyclocross

Tim Merlier back into the lead now and with a small gap to Kamp, D. van der Poel and Baestaens. This is a serious attack and a bid for the win in the men's Kasteelcross in #Zonnebeke. Still a bit more than one lap to go however. #cyclocross

Antoine Ferdinande was brought back, and Ryan Kamp goes into the penultimate lap of the men's Kasteelcross with a lead of 7secs to a large group with Merlier, Baestaens, D. van der Poel, Loockx.
#Zonnebeke #cyclocross

In lap 6 of the men's Kasteelcross in #Zonnebeke, we had a leading trio of Merlier, Kamp and Baestaens. As the speed dropped on the finish straight, Ferdinande sprinted into the lead position. D. van der Poel back in contention as well.
#cyclocross

As the speed of the race leaders has dropped, more riders have managed to get back to the race leaders in the men's Kasteelcross in #Zonnebeke.
Halfway into this #cyclocross race we have no less than eight riders up front now and a wide-open race. This looks promising.

In lap 3 of the men's Kasteelcross in #Zonnebeke, Tim Merlier has closed the gap to Loockx and Kamp. And so does van der Poel - David, not Mathieu. Four riders up front now with more chasers hoping for a slight drop in pace to get back.
#cyclocross

The race distance for the men's Kasteelcross in #Zonnebeke will be nine laps
Lander Loockx and Ryan Kamp in the lead after 2 laps, Merlier at 8secs with Soete and four more riders as the first group of chasers. The sun is out, but the mud looks brutally power-sapping. #cyclocross

The men's #cyclocross race in #Zonnebeke has started, and despite the fact that a lot of the big names are missing on the start list we should get some great racing.
The first rider to return from lap 1 is Lander Loockx , but in his wake there are hardly any gaps. Baestaens is moving up through some serious traffic, and Merlier is trying to get into the mix as well.

Ryan Kamp had to get into the pits to change a shoe, but he's already back in 2nd place.

She's done it: Denise Betsema wins the women's Kasteelcross in #Zonnebeke after a flawless race. She took the lead almost from the start and never looked back. She tried nothing fancy bit rode a rock-solid race without mistakes, and she gets her 2nd victory of the season.
American Austin Killips is enthusiast about 3rd.
1. Denise Betsema, NED, in 49.41mins
2. Marion Norbert Riberolle, BEL, + 1.15
3. Austin Killips, USA, + 2.43
4. Jana Dobbelaere, BEL, + 2.54
5. Leonie Bentveld
#cyclocross

Meanwhile Denise Betsema has gone into the final lap in #Zonnebeke with a lead of 1min02 over Marion Norbert Riberolle. Killips and Dobbelaere at 2min28 and Bentveld at almost 3mins.
The fight for 3rd is still on and open, let's see how this will pan out. #cyclocross

The fastest lap thus far has been ridden by Denise Betsema who's the only woman to ride the lap in less than 8mins in her fastest lap.
Somehow the timing at start and finish has gone in #Zonnebeke.
Killips in 3rd at 1min53
Dobbelaere at 2min04
Bentveld at 2min23
Betsema now on the penultimate lap and still not making any visible mistakes.
#cyclocross

Denise Betsema is riding a very clean and no-nonsense race with very stable lap times of just a bit over 8mins. Nothing fancy, but faster than the rest.
Norbert Riberolle following at 42secs now, so she's lost 19secs in lap 1 and 12secs each in lap 2 and lap 3.
In the fight for 3rd, Killips and Dobbelaere at 1min33 have put some secs into Bentveld at 1min45. Baroni at 2min02 and Joyce Verbeeke at 2min05.
#cyclocross #Zonnebeke

Denise Betsema is riding a ver clean and no-nonsense race with very stable lap times of just a bit over 8mins. Nothing fancy, but faster than the rest.
Norbert Riberolle following at 42secs now, so she's lost 19secs in lap 1 and 12secs each in lap 2 and lap 3.
In the fight for 3rd, Killips and Dobbelaere at 1min33 have put some secs into Bentveld at 1min45. Baroni at 2min02 and Joyce Verbeeke at 2min05.
#cyclocross #Zonnebeke

The race distance for the women at the Kasteelcross in #Zonnebeke will be 6 laps. Currently the race in its 2nd lap, with Denise Betsema riding a lonely race in the lead and Marion Norbert Riberolle trying to match the pace of the race leader.
Going into lap 3, the lead of Betsema has grown to 30secs. The fight for 3rd is fully on with Bentveld, Killips and Dobbelaere at 1min11, Baroni in 6th at 1min25.
#cyclocross

For once Denise Betsema had a good start, and after the opening lap she has got a lead of 18secs to Norbert Riberolle, Bentveld at 35secs leading the first chasing group.
Plenty of deep mud and slippery off-cambers on this circuit in #Zonnebeke - proper #cyclocross.

Since there's a #cyclocross worldcup race in Spain on Sunday, today's Kasteelcross in #Zonnebeke is lacking a lot of big names on the start lists. But the course is pretty good and the venue has some historic significance with Passchendaele and Ypern around the corner.
So let's see who can profit from a less prominent competition to get a win. In the women's race that starts in 2 minutes, the big favourites are Denise Betsema and Marion Norbert-Riberolle.
Bring it on!

#Zonnebeke, men's #Kasteelcross, result:
1. Mathieu van der Poel, NED, in 1:01.06 hours
2. Wout Van Aert, BEL, at + 0.36
3. Jens Adams, BEL + 1.20
4. Wietse Bosmans, BEL, + 1.28
5. Eli Iserbyt, BEL, + 1.31
6. David van der Poel, NED + 2.05
7. Felipe Orts, ESP, st
8. Gianni Vermeersch, BEL + 2.44
9. Vincent Baestaens, BEL, st
10. Nicolas Cleppe, BEL
Good training for Mathieu for the Worlds on how to ride with four Belgians trying to mark him.
#cyclocross

In a surprising plot twist, Jens Adams has dropped Eli Iserbyt and Wietse Bosmans at the beginning of the final lap. For Mathieu van der Poel, one last loop in the mud is all that separates him from another win in this #cyclocross season. #Zonnebeke #Kasteelcross