In the absence of most of the Dutch top riders, Manon Bakker started in Loenhout with the ambition to win, but after a good forty-five minutes of cyclo-cross, she had to admit defeat to teammate Sanne Cant. Bakker was disappointed, but was also realistic in a conversation with IDLProCycling.com afterwards. "It just wasn't good enough."
In making the preview, we prominently placed Bakker's name as the top favorite, but after four rounds of plodding through the mud in Belgium, she finished in third place. "This is very disappointing. I couldn't smile on the podium. Of course, I'm happy for Sanne, but I would have preferred to win myself," said the Dutch rider in her initial reaction.
"I was just riding at a tempo at the front with the thought that I could always accelerate, but then I reached a point where I started to ride a bit more slowly because it seemed like little was happening," said the Crelan-Corendon lady, who initially seemed to have everything under control. "Then Sanne came by like a rocket, right at the moment I had decided to switch. That was a mistake on my part, I should have kept going."
"From that moment on, I was behind, and it was over pretty quickly. At that point, I also lacked the energy and focus to come back from that," Bakker stated. "I came here with the intention to win. Normally, that would be possible, but not this time. It just wasn't good enough, clearly."
Bakker doesn't have much time to dwell on her disappointment, as she is competing in the Cyclo-cross World Cup in Hulst on Saturday. In Zeeland, the winner of Val di Sole will defend her fourth place in the overall standings. "I don't think a podium finish is realistic. Fem van Empel will likely overtake me because the points are so different, but top five was the goal and that's where I hope to end up. I've had it before this season that one day doesn't go well and the next day does, so I'm hoping for that again," she says with a big smile.
Finally, a good week and a half ago, Bakker was the main character in a touching moment. In Namur, she consoled her rival Zoe Backstedt with encouraging words after the British rider finished seven minutes behind. "Manon and I have become good friends," Backstedt had previously mentioned. "We had a great time together at the beginning of the season, in America. We competed in several of the same races there. We had a lot of fun. We've also trained together a few times in the past few weeks. It's just really nice to have a friend. After the race, we often chat for a bit. She's always there for me."
Bakker is the first to confirm that. "There is a good relationship with Zoe, we are good friends. I knew she was struggling. She was really looking forward to it, so I knew she would be really disappointed. That's why I decided to wait for her, as she would have done for me. We can race each other quite fiercely, but ultimately, as friends, for instance, we can also appreciate when we overtake each other on the inside of a corner," Bakker articulates the friendship and competition with other women whom she generally considers her friends.