(Shirin Van Anrooij, pictured above at the 2022 European Championships)
Shirin van Anrooij was the surprise winner of round #11 of the UCI World Cup in Gavere, Belgium on Monday. Finishing second was Lucinda Brand @ 37 seconds, while favorite Puck Pieterse experienced difficulties in the thick mud and came in 3rd @ 50 seconds. World Cup leader Fem van Empel was recovering from an injury and did not participate.
How It Happened
Lap 1: Puck Pieterse took the lead early on and immediately opened a gap of a few seconds on her rivals. Behind, Shirin van Anrooij and Blanka Kata Vas followed. Van Anrooij eventually worked her way back up to Pieterse and passed her on a run-up taking the lead.
Lap 2: Van Anrooij came through first with gap of 10 seconds on Pieterse and 13 seconds on Vas. Shortly after, Pieterse was able to catch Van Anrooij but was gapped again by her and lost more ground. Soon after, Pieterse experienced mechanical problems and had to run to the pits for a bike change. Lucinda Brand moved into 2nd place and Vas into 3rd place.
Lap 3: Van Anrooij led by 19 seconds over teammate Lucinda Brand. Behind in third was Vas @ 24 seconds. Brand began to catch her teammate, Van Anrooij, and was able to take the lead on a run-up. Van Anrooij fought back and retook the lead and put 9 seconds into Brand. Pieterse, meanwhile, began to make up time and caught Zoe Backstedt who was riding in 4th place.
Lap 4: Van Anrooij led, 12 seconds ahead of Brand, and 25 seconds ahead of Vas. Behind, Pieterse and Backstedt began to make up time on Vas and both eventually passed Vas on a run-up. At the finish it was Van Anrooij, Brand, Pieterse, Backstedt, with Vas finishing 5th.
