Week 10 Predictions: ReallyRad Festival of Cross and Ruddervoorde

There were four races this week to kick off week 10. On Monday. Vincent Baestaens won the round of the Toi Toi Cup in Slany. For the women, Pavla Havlikova won a three up sprint for the victory. On Friday, the DVV Trofee kicked off in Oudenaarde with the Koppenbergcross. Elit Iserbyt dominated the men’s race, while Yara Kastelijn led a team 777 podium sweep. Also on Friday was the GP Citta Di Jesolo in Italy. Cristian Cominelli and Sara Casasola picked up this wins there. The third race to take place on Friday was the GP Les Franqueses in Spain. The race was won by Felipe Orts and Lucia Gonzalez.

This weekend, there are ten races in six countries. Canada will hold its National Championships on Saturday in Peterborough. Also in North America is a pair of C2 races at the Really Rad Festival of Cross. All eyes are on the Superprestige round in Ruddervoorde with the return of World Champion Mathieu van der Poel. The other races in Sunday include the second round of the Coupe de France, a smaller C2 race in Belgium and another race in Japan.

We decided not to predict the Canadian National Championships, but we will continue our North American predictions with the Really Rad Festival of Cross Day 2 (Sunday). For our European race, we will buy into the hype and predict the Superprestige race in Ruddervoorde.

Really Rad Festival of Cross Day 2 (Sunday)

Elite Men

While all of the Canadian riders are headed home for their National Championships, the US riders will head to Falmouth, MA for a pair of C2 races. Kerry Werner is opting to take the weekend off to train ahead of next weeks Pan-American Championships. However, the rest of America’s top riders are going to be in attendance. The only other exception is Stephen Hyde, who was a late scratch.

1. Curtis White
2. Lane Maher
3. Tobin Ortenblad

Elite Women

Like the men, this weekends race is an all American affair. Ellen Noble returns to racing after a month off. The young American hasn’t raced since the Waterloo World Cup. The rest of America’s top riders are in attendance including Rebecca Fahringer, Katie Clouse and Crystal Anthony, among others.

1. Rebecca Fahringer
2. Caroline Nolan
3. Katie Clouse

Superprestige Ruddervoorde

Elite Men

Do we believe the hype? Yes. End of intro paragraph. In all seriousness, Sunday is all about the return of Mathieu van Der Poel. He has been unstoppable across all disciplines this year and has to be ready to crush it. We believe he is the favorite. Eli Iserbyt should be able to hang with van der Poel and challenge for the win. Our advice is to go early and put van der Poel on his back foot, forcing him to chance. There are about half a dozen riders who can podium in this race behind those two.

1. Mathieu van der Poel
2. Eli Iserbyt
3. Michael Vanthourenhout

Elite Women

It seems like every week and every race has a different winner this year. The 777 team looked incredibly good on Friday and their riders are always podium contenders. Annemarie Worst was second last year and is one of the favorites. Yara Kastelijn, who won Koppenbergcross on Friday, currently leads the overall head of Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Eva Lechner. All of these riders will contend for the podium. Sanne Cant is a possible scratch after a crash messed up her tailbone. Despite that setback, we think she will race and do well.

1. Annemarie Worst
2. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado
3. Sanne Cant