After Mathieu van der Poel's dominance during his cyclo-cross campaign, post-Worlds it was his teammate Niels Vandeputte who claimed victory in the Exact Cross Maldegem on Wednesday.
Vandeputte got away with Joran Wyseure and Felipe Orts late in the race following a crash by Michael Vanthourenhout on the penultimate lap.
Orts' chances of taking the win came to an end on the final lap when he narrowly avoided crashing in the sand and had to expend energy to chase back to the two Belgians.
The weather was mild for the second to last race of the Exact Cross series in Maldegem. Kevin Kuhn took the hole shot but the race remained together for more than half the race.
Vanthourenhout and teammate Gerben Kuypers attacked on lap 6 but were chased down by Orts, who looked to be one of the strongest riders on the day.
The sand claimed Kuypers on the next lap, then Vanthourenhout late in the day, leaving Vandeputte, Wyseure and Orts at the front.
Wyseure led into the final lap but couldn't match Vandeputte when he poured on the pace, and had to settle for second.
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