Vanthourenhout third as Jumbo-Visma rider goes solo from lap 3 The three-time world champion, who won the Belgian title three times on the bounce between 2016 and 2018, delivered on his heavy favourite status with an assured display in Meulebeke.  Although it was apparent early on that the battle behind would be for the minor podium places, Van Aert was now allowed to run away with it. Toon Aerts (Baloise Trek Lions), in particular, kept him honest, even reducing the deficit on the final couple of laps as he claimed the silver medal. Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), who rallied after an early crash, couldn’t cope with Aerts’ late charge and had to settle for bronze. 2020 champion Laurens Sweeck (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) made the early running but faded in the second half of the race, taking fourth at the finish. His teammate Eli Iserbyt, who came into the race with an arm injury, crashed early on and abandoned half-way through the race.  Van Aert put his right thumb in his mouth and raised his left arm in the air as he crossed the line, in tribute to his newly-born son, Georges.  "I didn't want to say it before the race, but I slept in the camper for six nights. That is not very comfortable at all," he said. "I would like to dedicate my victory to my son Georges and especially my wife Sarah. Nine months taken care of and this week… thank you Sarah. "I felt good in the beginning and was able to expand that gap in a good way. From the middle of the cross I was à bloc. After that, it was mainly to keep the lead, which was difficult enough. I had far from the energy I wanted, but I am satisfied with this title." Van Aert was the big favourite and didn’t take long to assert his dominance. Sweeck made the strongest start, as Iserbyt and Vanthourenhout both hit the deck. The former abandoned, while the latter will wonder what more he might have done had he not suffered that bad luck. Quinten Hermans (Tormans) was another rider who hit the deck a little later, taking him out of the chase group and contributing to a selective opening couple of laps. It was lap 3 where Van Aert decided to try and make the difference. Having finished the previous lap with Sweeck, he steadily powered away from last year’s winner, prising open a 15-second gap by the end of the lap. Aerts was moving through the gears and was almost with Sweeck, while Vanthourenhout was still scrambling back behind.  Van Aert barely put a foot wrong from then on, and the drama in the race was more about the battle for second. Aerts dropped Sweeck on lap 4, before the pair came back together on the following lap, and Vanthourenhout joined them. On lap 6, Aerts stormed clear once more, Sweeck fell away, and the pattern was established. With three laps to go, Van Aert had increased his lead to 25 seconds.  Aerts managed to take a few seconds out of that in the closing laps, but in truth it was going to take a big error or slice of misfortune to deprive Van Aert of the tricolour jersey.  The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999 and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling Baloise Trek’s Toon Aerts distanced his challengers to take second place at the Belgian National Championships in Meulebeke on Sunday He has now stood on the national championship podium three straight years after taking third place in 2020 and winning in 2019 Aerts finished just 20 seconds behind Wout van Aert who won the event for the fourth time in his career powering away from 2020 Belgian champion Laurens Sweeck on Lap 3 of 9 to take a lead that he would never relinquish But though Van Aert made the decisive move early in the race Aerts and company remained within striking distance throughout Toon Aerts battling 2020 Belgian champion Laurens Sweeck he dropped Sweeck and forced the defending champ to chase back on Aerts nibbled away at that gap over the final two laps as he pulled away Michael Vanthourenhout who finished 21 seconds behind Aerts for third Aerts’ result was particularly impressive coming off a jam-packed period of holiday cyclocross racing In his last two races — a X2O Badkamers Trofee race on Jan “I was very happy with my second place especially since the weeks around Christmas were not that good,” Aerts said after the race “The week before the race I did some good trainings and that brought my good shape back for the championships.” Toon Aerts celebrating his silver medal finish The racing calendar will be much lighter through the end of the season Ahead of the World Championships in Oostende on Jan Aerts will likely compete in a X2O Badkamers Trofee race in Hamme on Jan a little more downtime could do him a lot of good “My feeling on the track was very good,” Aerts said “So I’m keeping positive about the World Championships in Oostende at the end of the month.” The Colorado-based company and world-leading brand will outfit the men’s and women’s teams with high-performance luggage Wyseure over the moon with podium as Vanthourenhout takes bronze Michael Vanthourenhout rides to third(Image credit: Getty Images)Eli Iserbyt dominated the thick mud to win his first elite men's Belgian cyclocross national title.  Iserbyt was part of the four-rider group that formed after two laps and then he charged clear alone after four laps to distance his rivals Former under 23 world champion Joran Wyseure showed his potential by finishing second at 24 seconds with Michael Vanthourenhout third at 36 seconds Iserbyt was emotional after pulling on his first black He finished second in Antwerp four years ago but now the jersey was his “I don't really realize that it's happened yet,” Iserbyt said.  “I have to thank Michael Vanthourenhout. We both have not had an easy time recently but we found a lot of support from each other. I still have goals this season who is at a Visma-Lease a Bike training camp in preparation for his road season and the Spring Classics Heavy rain turned the Meulebeke course into a mud bath with organisers forced to clean up sections of the route before the men’s race It was going to be a race for hard riders.  After the tension of the wait for the start with Niels Vandeputte and Laurens Sweeck following him Nys and Vanthourenhout suffered poor starts but managed to fight their way across to the front group during the first lap.  The attacks began soon after with Nys and former Under 23 world champion Joran Wyseure going clear After a second attack they were soon joined by Iserbyt and Vanthourenhout as the mud and especially the deep sand section made a natural selection.  The four gradually extended their lead on lap three despite several attacks and it was up to 20 seconds after lap 4 The mud meant the gap was significantly bigger than the clock suggested a tactical race soon developed up front and in the chase.  During lap 5 Iserbyt made his first significant attack leading onto the long stairs and then surging away on the descent with Wyseure and then Vanthourenhout chasing but the title was disappearing ahead of them Iserbyt was able to again ride through the sand with the riders taking a clean bike on the run due to the deep mud Iserbyt’s lead after the pits was up to ten seconds and he checked the gap as he exited the second sand pit.  In a lap Iserbyt  had blown open the race.  Iserbyt’s technique in the mud was exemplary He put the power down when needed to reach the summit of the rises and then floated over the mud and jumped off and on the saddle whenever needed.  Nys was not so deft and an error saw him fall black to fourth place at the back of the chase group and so off the podium His morale and head seemed to drop as he came to terms with the cost of his mistake The bell rang out for the last lap after 53 minutes of racing Iserbyt was 28 seconds ahead of Wyseure and Vanthourenhout Nys was an ever-more distant 50 seconds back.  Iserbyt kept his nerve and turned the lap into a celebration Results powered by FirstCycling Stephen FarrandSocial Links NavigationHead of NewsStephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team having reported on professional cycling since 1994 He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022 before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters Sign up for our daily Newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest news You are receiving this pop-up because this is the first time you are visiting our site You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker) we are relying on revenues from our banners So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.Thanks have a new building in Sint-Katelijne-Waver "The warehouse covers 8,000 m2 and has 16 loading bays We also have four cold stores to cool products at even lower temperatures," says Vergro's Dominiek Noppe We now have far more space to do our work properly Thirty to 40% of the new warehouse is built for growth And we have an option on land adjacent to the building Vergro's new warehouse design also considered sustainability "We've installed an ammonia cooling system This is currently the most sustainable cooling system The building is insulated to the highest standards too There's a space above the ceiling over the building's entire width That provides double insulation," says Dominiek And solar panels on the roof for full capacity We heat these with recouped heat from the warehouse That's significantly reduced CO2 emissions." DVL“We're a stone's throw from the auction house here So DVL's trucks can leave for customers in the south of France at 1 pm about six trucks leave for the South every day price is less important than quality," Dominiek continues "That's why we work with the best Belgian and Dutch products We carefully select those with the best quality But we want to expand it for other products as well." "Eureka fresh remains the Vergro group's house brand That's along with loyal growers who brainstorm with us and leeks have been doing well under this brand so have bell peppers and eggplants," adds Noppe BrexitVergro has two more warehouses in Belgium "Sint-Truiden is the largest at 19,000 m2 and Meulebeke is 4,000 m2 in size The location offers us a logistical advantage And at the customer's premises a few hours later That's because we can deliver before midnight." between seven and 12 trucks go to the United Kingdom We're even doing ten percent more trade than last year That's because we've been preparing for Brexit for three years remains a growth market for us," says Dominiek 29 countries“The British and French markets are our two most important ones these countries account for 27% of our trade We farm ourselves and have 200 hectares of our own cultivation We do every step from picking to storing to packing and selling There's also been considerable growth in strawberries and eggplants this year too." we added Red Modoc pears to our traditional top fruit varieties You can refrigerate these pears for a year And they come out looking the same as when they went in There's more demand for Red Modoc than there's supply That's why we want to expand to 200 hectares in the coming years the goal is to maintain the Red Modoc's exclusivity the acreage growth will be controlled and gradual," explains Dominiek He says logistics is an important issue for the company Quality systems also demand a completely cooled chain vegetable viruses are bound to cause challenges in the future That's already happening with different products." "Price fluctuations have a considerable effect on the market Every link in the chain will have to continue to prove its added value It's therefore vital that we keep doing our best to offer farmers added value," Dominiek concludes For more information:Dominiek NoppeVergro5 Kleine Roeselare Street8760, Meulebeke, BelgiumTel: +32 (0) 514 89 076Email: [email protected]      Website: www.vergro.com FreshPublishers © 2005-2025 FreshPlaza.com there is currently a surplus of onions on the market That is because the recent wet weather has promoted growth a Dutch onion farmer left 200 tons of grubbed onions in his field The market price was €0.02/kg at the time; so Onion prices have since climbed slightly in Belgium Onion sets are now selling for around €0.07/kg; onion seeds at €0.08/kg very wet weatherThere are two reasons for these rising prices That is according to grower Stefaan Lannoo of Fresh Onions "Overseas demand has been increasing since last week a truck from France was here to load onion sets They had come empty because they couldn't load in France The lack of supply will probably also push prices up a bit soon QualityThe damp weather also increases the chance of disease And a few batches of seed onions had mildew For more infrmation:Stefaan LannooFresh Onions48 Vossekot Street8760, Meulebeke, BETel: +32 (0) 476 809 581Email: [email protected] Website: www.freshonions.be  having suggested she would retire before the start “I only plan to enjoy today," Cant told Sporza at the start "I'm probably at the start of my last Belgian Championship. So I'm really going to enjoy it “I will certainly take the time to think back on all the wonderful things but I would like to win that 15th. That's the intention otherwise I wouldn't have started today. I'm going to do everything I can." although she faced a strong challenge from Laura Verdonschot (De Ceuster-Bonache) Cant outsmarted her rival to take the victory after an exciting battle Cant followed 18-year-old Fleur Moors (Lidl-Trek) off the line with Verdonschot close behind Moors fell back and Marion Norbert Riberolle moved into the top three at the end of the opening lap Cant stumbled on the barriers but fortunately Norbert-Riberolle and Verdonschot also fell Cant and Verdonschot were alone at the front and began trading blows Cant opened up a lead of almost 15 seconds by lap four but then crashed it looked as if Cant had delivered another knock-out blow but Verdonschot clawed her way back The pair came onto the muddy running track together but Cant 'killer queen' held onto the lead and celebrated her record 15th title with a primal scream of emotion "I had a nice lead and was able to ride my races nicely but then I suddenly lay there and it became exciting again," Cant said It was the first time I rode on that line. Just before I was thinking that I had to go back to the right but I thought: it will also work on the left. I veered off track and got stuck behind a post with my shifter causing me to go over the fence myself. My shifter was stuck which caused me to struggle for a while," Cant explained Laura also got wings. Her morale may have dropped a bit because I already had a twenty second lead but then it was suddenly exciting again. But I did have a plan in mind and it turned out well." Results powered by FirstCycling she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track Laura has a passion for all three disciplines When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads UCI governance and performing data analysis the first pole for the new Vergro building in Sint-Katelijne-Waver was driven into the ground “We are ahead of schedule and the fully cooled warehouse of 8,000 square meters must be operational for the start of the new vegetable season on 1 March,” says Dominiek Noppe of Vergro The new building is located on the new industrial estate right next to the auction and will have a total of 16 loading docks “Our subsidiary DVL will move into the building together with Vergro One of the reasons behind the construction of the new building is that the site in Meulebeke has become too small which means that part of the production intended for export to France will be moved to Sint-Katelijne-Waver "The British need our products"“The new building is being built on our growth and is currently 40% larger than necessary The building in Meulebeke is only 4 years old but we have already noticed that we are running out of space That is why we decided to build the new building in Sint-Katelijne-Waver in such a way that we have the opportunity to grow,” says Dominiek the UK is an important sales market for Vergro we have to wait and see what will happen next year “Fortunately we have prepared ourselves well by founding the company Vergro UK which is ready to go when a hard Brexit comes we are not afraid that the British consumers will no longer need our products The UK is by no means self-sufficient in horticultural products and in terms of labour they will not be able to find enough pickers and the like we are not afraid that the British market will collapse 10% more ConferenceIn addition to horticultural products top fruit is also a product group in which Vergro is strong “The Conference harvest is over and we can conclude that we have harvested 10% more Conference this year The apple harvest is comparable to last year because all our apples are covered by hail nets We also have varieties that flower a little later which means that they have suffered less frost damage than will also be picked again soon and expectations are very positive This year more trees have come into production once more so we hope to pick 400 tonnes of Red Modoc pears this year Red Modoc“The demand for Red Modoc is still overwhelming We try to distribute sales fairly between the retailers who really believe in the product but we also want to supply the smaller parties We want to achieve a production of 200 hectares within the next five years That is why last week we obtained the license for the Red Modoc for Germany and England (we already had the licence for the Benelux) We have now been contacted by German growers who would like to plant the Red Modoc This shows that people really have confidence in this pear,” says Dominiek “A big advantage of the Red Modoc is the harvesting time This means that the grower can then keep his staff working Another great asset is that we picked 85% class 1 pears last year Other red pears often have the problem that the colour fades a bit over the years We also performed shelf life tests last year This showed that even in June the pear is still of excellent quality The price paid to the growers is also 50% above the Conference price we continue to believe 100 percent in this pear,” Dominiek concludes For more information:Dominiek NoppeVergro Kleine Roeselarestraat 58760 Meulebeke (Belgium)+32 (051) 48 90 76[email protected]www.vergro.com Sanne Cant (Iko-Crelan) sailed through the course in Meulebeke to take her 12th consecutive cyclo-cross national title on Sunday. Lotte Kopecky (Liv Racing) took the silver with a strong ride and Alicia Franck (Proximus - Alphamotorhomes - Doltcini) completed the podium with the bronze "It was a difficult course, but I did a good job and tried not to make mistakes," said Cant, as reported by Sporza. "Now I am rested again for a year. It has been a long time since I had to put on the team jersey again, it took some getting used to. I am glad that it can be put back in the closet." With sunshine prevailing on an already rain-soaked course, Baloise Trek Lions teammates Marthe Truyen and Ellen Van Loy had the fastest starts, followed pursued by Franck, Kopecky and Laura Verdonschot (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal). Cant settled in quickly and soon set the pace on the opening circuit, with Kopecky and Franck just a few seconds back. While Kopecky and Franck tried to keep Cant in sight on the second lap, Verdonschot lost momentum on a fall and messy bike exchange while riding with Van Loy and staying in the top five. At the halfway mark, Kopecky gained some time with a smooth kick through the sand pit, but the pace being pushed by Cant kept the time gap close to 15 seconds over her closest rival. Franck had slipped back to close to a minute back, but held her ensuing podium position with a 20-second gap over Van Loy. With less than two laps to go, Cant cruised through the sand and was in full control, while Kopecky had to dismount and run part of that section, continuing to lose time. "I was in a good rhythm. After a lesser passage in the sand she came back for a moment, but when I looked back, I never saw them," Cant told Sporza. By the bell lap, the top three riders had secured their placings, and it would be Verdonschot who would move into fourth as this time Van Loy used time with a final bike change. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.