World Cup / 4x Pro Tour, Houffalize

After a solid winter of training hard in the gym, on the road, on the mtb & on the 4-cross bike it was time to kickoff the season! The first round of the 4X pro tour and the UCI World cup Eliminator race were held in Houffalize, Belgium.

Next to racing the 4X pro tour series I am also competing in the new UCI Eliminator races. The Eliminator lap in Houffalize was brutal, it had 2 super steep climbs in it. Legs and lungs where burning once you sprinted up those climbs. I qualified 6th which I was pretty satisfied with. First round of racing went well and I moved on to the quarter finals. In the quarter finals I totally messed up my start and was unable to move on to the next round. Ended up in 13th place.

Right after the sprint race I had 30min to get changed into my 4-cross gear and prepare for training and qualification. From the moment I rode down the track I felt awesome on my new Superior bike. I felt a bit shaky & tired from the sprint race, but I had so much fun riding! I qualified fastest. The new organization from the 4X pro tour did an amazing job, there was a huge crowd and a great vibe on Saturday evening and it felt awesome for me to finally race in those rainbow stripes. My quarter and semi final went without a problem and I moved on to the finals. Nerves and adrenaline were rushing trough my body when I was in the gate...... I had a great start and managed to take the WIN!
Great way to start of the season.

Check out this video footage of Houffalize

Next stop: Bike festival Garda, Italy!

For more info and to stay up to date please check: www.annekebeerten.com
See you all at the races......keep on riding.
Thanks,
Anneke