Lars van der Haar won the 8th Under 23 World Cup round and also the overall standings
Lars van der Haar of Rabobank-Giant Off-road Team finished the proceedings at the World Cup round number 8 with a win to his credit. The cyclist took full advantage of the home turf and sailed passed the finish-line in the quickest time of 50 minutes and
9 seconds.
French cyclist, Julian Alaphilippe was three seconds behind and claimed the second spot, with Michiel Van Der Heijden finishing third.
The Dutch rider had a rough start to the race but recovered well to claim the victory.
Tim Merlier, Arnaud Grand, Michael Vanthourenhout and Julian Alaphilippe were initially leading the race.
Alaphilippe was in the front with an 18 second lead over the bunch, including Arnaud Grand, Tim Merlier, Van der Heijden and Van der Haar after the fourth lap.
Lars launched an attack and found it pretty hard to overcome Julian’s lead. He explained, "I was surprised by the gap he had but it happened because they didn't race behind him”.
He further added, “I figured that because I'm one year older than him I should have more power so I could go faster than him on the road”.
The final lap witnessed a close contest between the two cyclists. Alaphilippe, however, could not match the likes of the Dutch rider and had to settle for the second podium position.
Julian admitted that he was a bit early in the attack and was out of energy in the final moments of the race.
He also acknowledged the strengths of his opponent and admired his flawless performance to claim the victory.
"Probably I attacked too early," Alaphilippe said. "In the last lap I was at my limit. Lars was too strong and too smart".
Van der Heijden finished third and was the second Dutch rider on the podium.
Lars Van Der Haar is now leading the Under 23 World Cup final standings, with 220 points to his credit.
His compatriot, Mike Teunissen finished sixth on Sunday’s race and claimed the second overall spot with 145 points.
Second place finisher, Julian Alaphilippe is at the third position, with 131 points under his belt, whereas Arnaud Grand and Elia Silvestri are holding the fourth and the fifth spots, with 102 and 98 points, respectively.
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