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TABOR, Czech Republic- The course this morning at the 2015 Cyclocross World Championships struck a balance between the two races yesterday, with a thin layer of slippery mud covering an otherwise stiff, frozen ground. Riders who eased their focus or took lines too aggressively found themselves hitting a course with little give. Michael Vanthourenhout of Belgium was able to manage the conditions better than the other riders as he crossed the finish first, hopping the barriers and making fewer mistakes than Laurens Sweeck and Stan Godrie.

Curtis White before the game begun. U23 Men - 2015 Cyclocross World Championships © Mike Albright / Cyclocross Magazine

Curtis White before the game begun. U23 Men – 2015 Cyclocross World Championships © Mike Albright / Cyclocross Magazine

Fans lined the other side of the race tape, shoulder to shoulder, as the U23 race went underway. Both Vanthourenhout and Sweeck were the heavy favorites on the start line with Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert deciding to compete in the Elite Race. American riders Logan Owen and Curtis White were able to take a second row call-up right behind.

The start of the 2015 U23 Men Cyclocross World Championships. © Matthew Lasala / Cyclocross Magazine

The start of the 2015 U23 Men Cyclocross World Championships. © Matthew Lasala / Cyclocross Magazine

The Czech spectators were not disappointed at their U23 riders at the initial goings of the race. Belgian rider Toon Aerts might have taken the holeshot, but Jakub Skala took over with an early lead in the first lap, followed several places back by Vojtech Nipl. Not all of the home crowd favorites were fortunate, however. Adam Toupalik, the U23 rider who won the Men’s Elite Race in the Czech National Championship, had early mechanical problems, preventing him from joining his fellow countrymen at the front of the race.

Before the end of the first lap, Joris Nieuwenhuis of the Netherlands jumped to the front, and Laurens Sweeck wove his way around the Czech riders to take a second position heading across the line for the first time. Godrie was also in the mix of the top six riders, but the big surprise was that Vanthourenhout wasn’t making his presence felt at the head of the race.

Michael Vanthourenhout cleared the barriers and upgraded his 2014 silver to 2015 gold. U23 Men Cyclocross World Championships. © Matthew Lasala / Cyclocross Magazine

Michael Vanthourenhout cleared the barriers and upgraded his 2014 silver to 2015 gold. U23 Men Cyclocross World Championships. © Matthew Lasala / Cyclocross Magazine

Compared to yesterday’s races, the U23 riders in the lead didn’t create much separation early, and Logan Owen crossed the line in 18th place not far from the leaders. Curtis White sat only five places behind Owen as the two Americans fought to keep their positions at the front third of the race.

The uphill barriers proved to be one of the decisive sections of the course, with many U23 riders hopping them, risking a crash in order to gain the acceleration advantage after clearing the barriers. On the second lap, Sweeck had passed Nieuwenhuis before dismounting and running. Godrie followed, but as the Dutch rider stayed on his bike during the barriers, he was able to eliminate the new leader’s gap. When Sweeck crashed around a slippery corner soon after, Godrie found himself dictating the pace at the front.

Owen moved up to 12th before fading to 15th. U23 Men - 2015 Cyclocross World Championships © Mike Albright / Cyclocross Magazine

Owen moved up to 12th before fading to 15th. U23 Men – 2015 Cyclocross World Championships © Mike Albright / Cyclocross Magazine

French rider Clement Venturini, who won the Junior title back in 2011 against today’s favorites Sweeck and Vanthourenhout, had a sudden surge from his top ten position, and within a half lap, passed Nieuwenhuis and Sweeck to take second place behind Godrie. Logan Owen, meanwhile, managed to move up several spots to 16th place, although at this point in the race, the leaders were starting to separate themselves from the rest of the field.

Vanthourenhout, inching forward as the race progressed, finally put in an attack with three laps to go. Godrie looked as if he was the only rider who could keep pace as the two of them created a gap on the French Venturini.

The fans came out in droves on Sunday. U23 Men - 2015 Cyclocross World Championships © Mike Albright / Cyclocross Magazine

The fans came out in droves on Sunday. U23 Men – 2015 Cyclocross World Championships © Mike Albright / Cyclocross Magazine

Laurens Sweeck, although haunted by his early mistakes in the race, looked as if he finally dialed in the course. He overtook Venturini, and by the time he reached the pavement, Godrie was urging the Belgian rider to go around and take a turn pulling.

Laurens Sweeck would fiinish second behind teammate Vanthourenhout. © Matthew Lasala / Cyclocross Magazine

Laurens Sweeck would fiinish second behind teammate Vanthourenhout. © Matthew Lasala / Cyclocross Magazine

Sweeck and Godrie jockeyed for positions, waiting for one another to make a move instead of pushing one another, which gave Vanthourenhout the advantage he needed at the front of the race to create a massive gap with two to go.

Once again Godrie used his barrier hopping to his advantage as passed Sweeck, who dismounted and ran them, but a crash near the pits with a little over one to go sent Godrie sprawling, and Sweeck was able to fully capitalize on the mistake.

Vanthourenhout finished second behind Wout van Aert in 2014, and went clear for the win at the 2015 U23 Men Cyclocross World Championships. © Matthew Lasala / Cyclocross Magazine

Vanthourenhout finished second behind Wout van Aert in 2014, and went clear for the win at the 2015 U23 Men Cyclocross World Championships. © Matthew Lasala / Cyclocross Magazine

In the final lap, all the podium contenders were able to keep their distance from one another, and Vanthourenhout took the win with Sweeck coming in ten seconds back to make it a Belgian one-two race. Godrie rounded out the podium in third, while Venturini finished fourth, ten seconds off the podium pace.

“It was a fantastic race,” Vanthourenhout said after the race. “Two first laps, I was 9th place, not so good, and then I felt better and then I attack, got four seconds…”
“It was very great for Belgium,” he continued.  “Me and Laurens, we were the two favorites, and it’s unbelievable…”

Skala was the first Czech finisher in the U23 race, arriving to the finish seventh overall.

Logan Owen gave a tremendous effort for a 15th place finish, less than two minutes back on the leader. “I had an okay start, but I wish I would have started on mud tires. I hit that first corner and realized that fast tires weren’t the best for that first bit. I lost a lot of ground sliding all over the place.” At the worst be was in 25th, right around the time he grabbed his pit bike. “Then I got to 12th at one point, before fading just a wee bit. It wasn’t a perfect race. I still got a top 15, which isn’t what I wanted, but it is an okay result for what it is.”

Curtis White gathered a top 20 with his 19th place finish. Drew Dillman secured a 25th place finish, with Tobin Ortenblad coming in three spots behind at 28th. Grant Ellwood finished 31st and Sam O’Keefe rounded out the Americans, finishing on the lead lap in 43rd.

Sole U23 Canadian rider Danick Vandale also finished on the lead lap, three places behind O’Keefe in 46th and right behind Australian Rider Jack Hogan. Jack Clarkson, who entered the U23 race for the final time, lead the British with a 30th place finish.

U23 Men Photo Gallery – 2015 Cyclocross World Championships

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PlaceRiderUCICountryTime
1VANTHOURENHOUT MichaelBEL19931210BELGIUM0:49:55
2SWEECK LaurensBEL19931217BELGIUM+00:10
3GODRIE StanNED19930109NETHERLANDS+00:14
4VENTURINI ClementFRA19931016FRANCE+00:24
5NIEUWENHUIS JorisNED19960211NETHERLANDS+00:31
6AERTS ToonBEL19931019BELGIUM+00:45
7SKALA JakubCZE19931215CZECH REPUBLIC+01:06
8SWEECK DietherBEL19931217BELGIUM+01:14
9HERMANS QuintenBEL19950729BELGIUM+01:14
10BERTOLINI GioeleITA19950426ITALY+01:14
11NIPL VojtechCZE19930114CZECH REPUBLIC+01:36
12BUDDING MartijnNED19950831NETHERLANDS+01:42
13LIENHARD FabianSUI19930903SWITZERLAND+01:48
14DOUBEY FabienFRA19931021FRANCE+01:49
15OWEN LoganUSA19950325U.S. OF AMERICA+01:51
16FRISCHKNECHT AndriSUI19940707SWITZERLAND+02:03
17ORTS FelipeESP19950401SPAIN+02:07
18SUAREZ FERNANDEZ KevinESP19940614SPAIN+02:18
19WHITE Curtis J.USA19950928U.S. OF AMERICA+02:23
20CARSTENSEN FINI SebastianDEN19950326DENMARK+02:24
21PEETERS YannickBEL19961115BELGIUM+02:26
22TOUPALIK AdamCZE19960509CZECH REPUBLIC+02:38
23DUBAU JoshuaFRA19960604FRANCE+03:17
24COLLEDANI NadirITA19950410ITALY+03:33
25DILLMAN AndrewUSA19940401U.S. OF AMERICA+03:37
26DUBAU LucasFRA19960604FRANCE+03:37
27DRUMM FelixGER19941104GERMANY+03:50
28ORTENBLAD TobinUSA19940929U.S. OF AMERICA+03:57
29RUEGG TimonSUI19960124SWITZERLAND+04:07
30CLARKSON JackGBR19930710GREAT BRITAIN+04:13
31ELLWOOD GrantUSA19960511U.S. OF AMERICA+04:30
32RUSSO ClementFRA19950120FRANCE+04:34
33LINDENAU PaulGER19960122GERMANY+04:34
34MIKLER BartoszPOL19940317POLAND+04:51
35SCHUBERT StepanCZE19960513CZECH REPUBLIC+05:04
36BARNES NicholasGBR19940722GREAT BRITAIN+05:10
37VRANA DominikCZE19960203CZECH REPUBLIC+05:32
38GLAJZA OndrejSVK19940717SLOVAKIA+05:47
39MICK ChristophAUT19930708AUSTRIA+05:48
40MAEDA KoheiJPN19940615JAPAN+05:48
41SUMNER BenGBR19930727GREAT BRITAIN+05:57
42KOSTECKI PatrykPOL19930817POLAND+05:57
43O'KEEFE SamUSA19940124U.S. OF AMERICA+05:57
44ERIKSSON DavidSWE19951121SWEDEN+06:36
45HOGAN JackAUS19960412AUSTRALIA+06:57
46VANDALE DanickCAN19951207CANADA+07:12
47HEIGL PhilippAUT19930908AUSTRIA+07:19
48YOKOYAMA KotaJPN19950820JAPAN-1LAP
49GRAB DominicSUI19950321SWITZERLAND-2LAP