“The start of my new cross season couldn’t have started better,” laughed the Dutch Lucinda brand (Baloie Glowi Lions), after she had won the Ardooie Kermiscross. “It was also the first time I rode here. This way I can also tick off Ardooie.”
“I knew that this race had been organized for a while, but for some reason the cross never really fit into my programme. I was asked several times whether I would like to go to Ardooie; but that never worked out, until today. I am pleasantly surprised. It is quite a nice cross. It is also ideal to start a new season with a slightly ‘smaller’ cyclo-cross. If things are not going well here, it may not be as bad as in a classification cross.”
With Otegem and Ardooie, Flanders only has two more ‘independent’ competitions this season. “This cross is unique. Cyclo-cross is alive and well here. It’s great that the organizers can get so many volunteers together to get this off the ground. Here you don’t have a double material station, but otherwise I see little difference with the classification crosses. If it fits into my program, I would like to come back here.”