2025 Vlaamse Duinencross
(World Cup)
Koksijde, Belgium
66th edition: Friday, January 3, 2025
Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Overijse Cross podium history | 2024 edition | Course map
This race is also known as the Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Overijse Cross.
Weather at the race city of Koksijde, Belgium, at 2:00 PM, local time: 3C (37F), partly cloudy, with the wind from the west-southwest at 19 km/hr (12 mph). There is a 3% chance of rain.
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Laurens Sweeck has left his nearest chaser a half-miunute behind.
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The race: Laurens Sweeck very happy with victory in the dunes while Dutch top talent Tibor Del Grosso was surprised.
Laurens Sweeck (31) won in Koksijde for the fifth time this season, which puts him on a par with world champion Mathieu van der Poel. Afterwards, he was especially happy that he finally managed to win the Duinencross. Dutch top talent Tibor Del Grosso (21) “surprised himself a bit, but had hoped for it.”
After a third and second place in recent years, the win this time went to ‘Sandman’ Laurens Sweeck. “This means a lot to me. I am very happy that I am now on the list of honours. Usually I bump into a super Wout [van Aert] or Mathieu [van der Poel] here, but now I could finally finish it off”, said Sweeck .
He had a good, young companion in Tibor Del Grosso. “The first half of the race we were certainly evenly matched and we could take turns, after that I could do my thing and shake him off.”
Was he confident? “No, I wasn’t completely confident, but when I created that gap in the penultimate lap it was just a matter of not making any mistakes, and I didn’t.”
He thus booked his fifth victory of the year. “The season isn’t over yet, but I’m definitely doing well,” he concluded.
Complete results:
| 1 | Laurens Sweeck | Crelan-Corendon | 1:02:11 |
| 2 | Tibor Del Grosso | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 0:26 |
| 3 | Toon Aerts | Deschacht-Hens-FSP | 0:52 |
| 4 | Pim Ronhaar | Baloise Glowi Lions | 1:06 |
| 5 | Joran Wyseure | Crelan-Corendon | 1:25 |
| 6 | Eli Iserbyt | Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines | 1:40 |
| 7 | Toon Vandebosch | Crelan-Corendon | 2:29 |
| 8 | Gianni Vermeersch | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 2:45 |
| 9 | Corné Van Kessel | Deschacht-Hens-FSP | 2:49 |
| 10 | Niels Vandeputte | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 3:01 |
| 11 | Daan Soete | Ridley Racing Team | 3:15 |
| 12 | Michael Boros | Czech Republic | 3:32 |
| 13 | Mees Hendrikx | Heizomat Radteam-Herrmann | 3:44 |
| 14 | Tom Meeusen | Belgium | 3:58 |
| 15 | Marcel Meisen | Germany | 4:09 |
| 16 | Clément Horny | Belgium | 4:49 |
| 17 | Thijs Aerts | Charles Liégeois Roastery CX | 5:11 |
| 18 | Ward Huybs | Baloise Glowi Lions | 5:17 |
| 19 | Wout Janssen | Belgium | 6:07 |
| 20 | Yorben Lauryssen | Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines | 6:30 |
| 21 | Martin Groslambert | France | 6:41 |
| 22 | Mathijs Wuyts | Belgium | 6:51 |
| 23 | Arne Vrachten | Belgium | 7:04 |
| 24 | Arne Baers | Belgium | 7:37 |
| 25 | Robin Alderweireld | Belgium | @ 2 laps |
| 26 | Gunnar Holmgren | Canada | @ 2 laps |
| 27 | Hugo Jot | France | @ 3 laps |
| 28 | Damien Beton | France | @ 3 laps |
| 29 | Mathieu Morichon | France | @ 3 laps |
| 30 | Hijiri Oda | Japan | @ 3 laps |
| 31 | Cody Scott | Competitive Edge Racing | @ 4 laps |
| 32 | Cai Davies | Great Britain | @ 5 laps |
| 33 | Ruben Lembrechts | Belgium | @ 5 laps |
| 34 | Ben Frederick | USA | @ 5 laps |
| 35 | Miel Storms | Netherlands | @ 5 laps |
| 36 | Kevin Blanpain | France | @ 5 laps |
| 37 | Tetsuki Kaji | Olanda Base/Watersley | @ 5 laps |
| 38 | Yuta Okayama | Olanda Base/Watersley | @ 6 laps |
| 39 | Dries Bruynseels | Bruvo Dukla Bratislava | @ 6 laps |
| 40 | Dovydas Luksas | Lithuania | @ 6 laps |
| 41 | William Lezard | Great Britain | @ 6 laps |
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First win of the season for Puck Pieterse.
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The race: Here's the report from third-place Fem van Empel's Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
Fem van Empel secured third place at the Koksijde cyclocross race. The reigning world champion visibly struggled but managed to fight her way to a podium finish. The victory went to Puck Pieterse.
From the start, Van Empel and Lucinda Brand found themselves slightly behind the explosive efforts of Pieterse and Inge van der Heijden. Brand battled her way to second place, while Van Empel overtook Van der Heijden to claim third.
“I didn’t feel like there was more in it today,” Van Empel admitted afterward. “Yesterday, I already didn’t feel great, and even during the course recon, things didn’t quite click. For me, that’s often a sign that things won’t go smoothly. The others were clearly stronger today. Third place isn’t a disaster, of course. I just hope to recover quickly and get back to performing at my best,” she said.
“My next race is this Sunday in Dendermonde, another tough course,” Van Empel added. She also confirmed that she won’t compete in the Dutch National Championships next weekend. “With such a busy schedule and big goals this season, I have to make choices, and unfortunately, the Nationals don’t fit in.”
Complete results:
Where no team is given the racer's nationality is posted
| 1 | Puck Pieterse | Fenix-Deceuninck | 46min 42sec |
| 2 | Lucinda Brand | Baloise Glowi Lions | @ 19sec |
| 3 | Fem van Empel | Visma-Lease a Bike | 0:39 |
| 4 | Inge Van Der Heijden | Crelan-Corendon | 0:53 |
| 5 | Sanne Cant | Crelan-Corendon | 1:43 |
| 6 | Manon Bakker | Crelan-Corendon | 1:46 |
| 7 | Julie Brouwers | Charles Liégeois Roastery | 2:33 |
| 8 | Marthe Truyen | Fenix-Deceuninck | 2:36 |
| 9 | Denise Betsema | Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines | 3:06 |
| 10 | Laura Verdonschot | De Ceuster-Bouwpunt | 3:38 |
| 11 | Francesca Baroni | Proximus-Cyclis-AlphaMotorhomes | 4:11 |
| 12 | Imogen Wolff | Great Britain | 4:48 |
| 13 | Kiona Crabbé | Belgium | 5:06 |
| 14 | Lizzy Gunsalus | USA | 5:46 |
| 15 | Perrine Clauzel | Sebmotobikes CX Team | 6:54 |
| 16 | Electa Gallezot | Sebmotobikes CX Team | 8:16 |
| 17 | Bloeme Kalis | Proximus-Cyclis-AlphaMotorhomes | 8:33 |
| 18 | Hope Inglis | Great Britain | 9:20 |
| 19 | Cassidy Hickey | CCB-Alpine Carbon | 9:38 |
| 20 | Sara Aaboe Kallestrup | Denmark | 10:08 |
| 21 | Lara Defour | Belgium | 10:19 |
| 22 | Tessa Zwaenepoel | Proximus-Cyclis-AlphaMotorhomes | 10:42 |
| 23 | Febe De Smedt | Proximus-Cyclis-AlphaMotorhomes | 11:19 |
| 24 | Anna Panusová | Brilon Racing Team MB | @ 1 lap |
| 25 | Meg De Bruyne | Belgium | @ 1 lap |
| 26 | Stefanie Paul | Germany | @ 2 laps |
| 27 | Katja Verkerk | Canada | @ 2 laps |
| 28 | Lies'L Schevenels | Belgium | @ 2 laps |
| 29 | Siobhan Kelly | Canada | @ 2 laps |
| 30 | Rylie Cahill | USA | @ 2 laps |
| 31 | Christiane Bilodeau | Canada | @ 2 laps |
| 32 | Faustine Villar Thiery | France | @ 2 laps |
| 33 | Hannah McClorey | Ireland | @ 2 laps |
| 34 | Cindy Schwedler | Germany | @ 3 laps |
| 35 | Emily De Cuyper | Belgium | @ 3 laps |
| 36 | Bridget Wilson | USA | @ 3 laps |
| 37 | Jamie McColl | USA | @ 3 laps |
| 38 | Anna Munro | USA | @ 3 laps |
| 39 | Alana Polfliet | Belgium | @ 3 laps |
| 40 | Lea Coraboeuf | France | @ 3 laps |
| 41 | Thea Persson | Sweden | @ 3 laps |
| 42 | Tiger-Lil Harinck | Belgium | @ 3 laps |
| 43 | Juliette Verdier | France | @ 3 laps |
| 44 | Maria Gutierrez Perez | Spain | @ 3 laps |
| 45 | Jo Blanchaert | Belgium | @ 3 laps |
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Course map:
2025 Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Cross map