On Sunday, at the European Cyclocross Championships in Pontchâteau, the Netherlands finished in third, fourth, and fifth place, which was pretty satisfying. Lars van der Haar certainly could have done better, but he fell twice and saw Michael Vanthourenhout disappear from view. Perhaps the surprise of the day was Pim Ronhaar, who secretly was a bit disappointed with his fourth place.
Van der Haar was the Dutch team leader, that much was clear. "With the rest who could possibly reach the podium at the last minute. Lars could win and that's what we had to ride for, and everyone agreed on that. That's how they rode and the tactic worked well," said national coach Gerben de Knegt to IDLProCycling.com.
During the early stages of the race, Ronhaar was riding to assist Van der Haar, staying true to this role even when responding to an aggressive maneuver by Michael Vanthourenhout. "The national coach and I had decided I should hold back a bit at the start, but a significant gap had formed by the end of the third lap. That's when Cameron Mason (who secured third place, ed.) and I started to push. Unfortunately, Lars wasn't able to keep up. I eased off a couple of times in hopes that Lars would bridge the gap, yet in the end, I believe my performance was on par with his. I was equally strong today."
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Van der Haar crossed the line ahead of Ronhaar.
This resulted in mixed emotions because what if Ronhaar had raced for himself? Would he have stood on the podium then? "I don't regret easing up, no. Michael wasn't too far ahead, so I don't think I should have done anything differently. Lars was just off the back, and if I had kept going at full pace, he would have been pushed to his limit. Who knows, maybe Lars would have had an exceptional day and caught up to Michael, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. I felt this morning that I was going to have a good day, but Lars is the top favorite at such a European Championship. I was supposed to aim for sixth or seventh place and not think about anything more, but in the end, I kept it up until the end. A fourth place is really disappointing, but I'm very satisfied with how I raced."
Van der Haar and Ronhaar ended up together in the last lap, fighting for third place. They made it into a true battle. "Pim really helped me out a lot by bringing me back into contention, and afterwards, I tried to help him as well. We kept each other in the race, but I made too many mistakes to really leave my mark. I know I'm faster than Pim in the sprint for third place, so in the last lap, it was up to him to drop me in the run-up. He's better at that, but he didn't manage to. After that, he knew it would be tough in the sprint. We both wanted to go for the podium and we kept it fair," said Van der Haar.
Ronhaar agrees but had secretly hoped that Van der Haar would let him take the bronze. "I thought: maybe he'll grant me the third place, but a medal isn't something you give away easily. Bronze probably would have meant more to me, but I can't fault Lars, of course. The European Championships are no place for gifts, and although I would have liked the bronze, the feeling is different than if I had earned it myself."
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Image from 2022, when Van der Haar still finished second behind Vanthourenhout.
De Knegt believes that his two riders ultimately did the best they could. "Pim and Lars are teammates, so they know each other well. That worked out fine. What Pim did in the race was according to the plan. He brought Lars back, and then Lars took over. He dropped Pim and Mason, but then he made the first mistake. Instead of getting within ten seconds, you fall back to twenty seconds and have to start all over. And then he falls again. Lars is quite satisfied with his third place. He made two crucial mistakes, and they cost him dearly."
And so, the Netherlands had to be content with bronze in a race where perhaps two men were ready for a medal. "I was cheerful in the camper, had music on, and was dancing. The rain falling is good for me, but I think I could have been competitive on a fast course as well," said Ronhaar, who was clearly in good form. De Knegt also saw a strong performance from Van der Haar. "Lars can handle this quite well by now, although it was perhaps a bit too nasty out there. Michael rides flawlessly, and Lars makes two mistakes. You can't do that in a championship. But in the end, we were watching Thibau Nys, who dropped out of the race, while Lars is always there."