First World Cup victory of the season for Michael Vanthourenhout
Sunday 7 December 2025
The sting was in the tail of the third round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup. After a nail-biting final lap, Michael Vanthourenhout ultimately came out on top. It is his first world cup win of the season.
Sardinia usually evokes images of sun, sea and beaches, but in Terralba the riders were served something entirely different. Due to rainfall earlier in the week and the women’s race earlier in the day, the course was muddy and treacherous at the start of the men's event.
On the mostly flat circuit, no fewer than eleven riders stayed together for a remarkably long time. Gradually, a few riders showed they had the best legs: Joris Nieuwenhuis, Michael Vanthourenhout, Pim Ronhaar and Laurens Sweeck. It soon became clear that the fight for the day’s victory would be between them, although creating gaps on the Italian course proved anything but easy.
In the final lap, we witnessed a thriller worthy of Hitchcock. At every corner, Sweeck, Nieuwenhuis and Vanthourenhout battled for the lead. In the end, the Pauwels Sauzen – Altez Industriebouw rider played it smartest: in the final muddy stretch he retook the lead and never gave it up.
After a strong start to the season, Vanthourenhout experienced a slight dip, but with this impressive victory in Sardinia, he looks entirely back on track.
