An unlucky day for Denise Betsema in Hulst in Zeeland. The 28-year-old cyclo-cross rider did not get further than seventh place in the World Cup competition. Her competitor Lucinda Brand took the win and finished in the general classification.
At the start Betsema was already behind the head. The Texel rider was eighth after two laps, half a minute behind Puck Pieterse. Together with Marianne Vos, the young cyclo-cross rider was separate from the rest of the field. After Vos’s relapse, Pieterse was alone in the lead.
Betsema did catch up a bit in the following rounds. Going into the penultimate lap, she was still 20 seconds behind and had clear track to get closer. Meanwhile, Lucinda Brand, the leader in the general classification, had taken over the lead in the race from Pieterse.
In the last lap of the race, Betsema was unable to gain a few more places. The gap at the front continued to increase and seventh place at 43 seconds was the highest achievable. As a result, she can only add nineteen points. In the general classification, Betsema is now second with 59 points behind winner Brand. The lead on number three Pieterse is still a generous 48 points. In two weeks, the penultimate race is in Flamanville, France.
X20 Trophy
Betsema was in good shape on New Year’s Day. She rode to third place in Baal, Belgium, behind Brand and Ceylin Alvarado. As a result, she leads the general classification after four of the eight games with a 46 seconds lead over Brand.