Cyclocross spectacle in Namur

Another crazy offroad weekend was upon us. The World Cup landed in Namur this weekend and on Saturday, Daan made his cyclocross comeback in the Exact Cross in Kortrijk. As if that wasn't enough, the Beach Race of De Haan was also on the programme on Sunday.

Credits: Photonews

We start this weekly report with the World Cup in Namur. This sure is one of the classics of the calendar. Expect off-cambers, steep downhills and huge crowds. Besides that, World Champion Mathieu van der Poel made his return to cyclocross. The perfect recipe for a great afternoon.

Joris had a good start in this race and for quite some time, he was following the leaders. However, when there was an acceleration of Nys, Van der Poel, Van der Haar and Vanthourenhout, Joris decided to set his own pace. He battled for 6th place with Vandeputte and Ronhaar but in the end, he had to settle for 8th after a steady race. In GC, he is tied for second position with Vanthourenhout.

Felipe drove this race a little more in the background. Still, on a track that isn't his favourite, he finished in a nice 15th position, ahead of Sweeck and Wyseure.

Credits: Photonews

Exact Cross Kortrijk

On Saturday, Daan Soete made his cyclocross debut in the Leiecross in Kortrijk. Daan had a very good start and was well into the top 10 during the opening lap. Afterwards, he dropped back a little and the lack of specific cross training showed. He finished the race in 19th position. After the race, Daan got sick as he had respiratory problems. This led to the decision to skip the Beach Race in De Haan on Sunday.

Beach Race De Haan

With the abscence of Daan, we only had Aaron at the start at the Belgian coast. Just like last week, Jasper Dejaegher from Team Flanders - Baloise was the winner of the race. Aaron finished in sixth position and showed great improvement from last week. Next up for Aaron: the Belgian Championship Beach Race in Middelkerke in two weeks from now.

Credits: Social Tee

Christmas period coming up

Next weekend, the busy Christmas period will really kick off. With 12 races in 16 days, the calendar is filled to the brim. Before Christmas, our schedule looks like this:

• Saturday 20 December - World Cup Antwerp: Joris Nieuwenhuis, Felipe Orts

• Sunday 21 December - World Cup Koksijde: Felipe Orts

• Monday 22 December - X2O Badkamers Trofee Hofstade: Joris Nieuwenhuis, Daan Soete

• Tuesday 23 December - Superprestige Heusden-Zolder: Joris Nieuwenhuis, Felipe Orts, Daan Soete