Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) dominated the final round of the Exact Cross series in Sint-Niklaas on Saturday in northern Belgium, taking a fourth victory of the season to go along with 10 other podiums.
The 24-year-old led from the holeshot, with Lars van der Haar (Baloise Glowi) using two final laps to close the gap, but could not close down the last 25 seconds. Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines) held off Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens-FSP) for third.
Vandeputte completed all seven rounds of Exact Cross, earning the victory at Waaslandcross, and never finished outside the top 5 across the series.
The young Belgian said it has not been a "perfect" season, but a step in the right direction.
"I've been very consistent, but I missed the podium in the three championships, which is a bit of a bummer. It would have been nice to have a medal in one of those three races," Vandeputte told broadcasters at the finish.
"Also I had some sickness the two weeks before Worlds, so that was a bit of a disappointment. It feels great to finish off the season with good legs again."
On a cold day with bright sunshine, slippery run-up sections around the lake at Sint-Niklaas and the wide Waasland sand sections provided challenges for the field, all except for Vandeputte who distanced all challengers on the first lap.
By the mid-point of the race, Vandeputte had a 35-second gap to all chasers - Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines duo Eli Iserbyt and Michael Vanthourenhout, Van der Haar, and Ridley Racing teammates Joris Nieuwenhuis and Felipe Orts.
While Vandeputte sailed smoothly back and forth around the shore of the lake, Vanthourenhout and Van der Haar made a final effort to secure the final podium spots with a final lap acceleration. The Dutchman saved enough on the straightaway to surge ahead of Vanthourenhout for second place.
Results
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