Gerben Kuypers wins Kermiscross Ardooie 2026 in five-rider sprint

Gerben Kuypers claimed the elite men’s Kermiscross Ardooie on Thursday 15 October 2026, winning a five-rider sprint after nearly an hour of tight racing. The Pauwels Sauzen–Altez Industriebouw rider completed the race in 59:10, ahead of Witse Meeussen and teammate Michael Vanthourenhout. Cameron Mason took fourth and Joran Wyseure fifth, with all five recorded on the same finishing time.

The result gave Kuypers his first victory of the new cyclocross season after he had narrowly missed the podium in Dendermonde four days earlier. It also continued a strong week for Pauwels Sauzen, whose riders had taken first and second in Sunday’s HG Cross opener.

Ardooie is not part of the HG Cross calendar, but its position between Dendermonde and Saturday’s Meulebeke round makes it a useful comparison for the early-season field. Several of the same men contested all three events, leaving small differences in cornering, positioning and sprint speed to decide the order.

How it unfolded

The race remained open deep into the final laps, with riders from Pauwels Sauzen, Crelan-Corendon and other teams able to respond to changes of pace. Vanthourenhout entered the event after winning Dendermonde, while Kuypers had been one of the strongest challengers there. Meeussen and Wyseure ensured that the Crelan-Corendon riders were equally well represented at the sharp end.

The closing kilometres became more aggressive when Yordi Corsus tried a move on the final circuit. His attack helped stretch the leading group but did not secure a gap that could be defended to the finish. The strongest chasers regrouped, setting up an unusually large contest for a cyclocross victory.

Kuypers emerged with the best finish from that five-man group. Meeussen crossed second, denying Pauwels Sauzen another one-two, while Vanthourenhout remained close enough to secure third. Mason and Wyseure followed on the same recorded time, underlining how little had separated the contenders over the course of the afternoon.

Corsus finished sixth, eight seconds down, after paying for the late effort. Felipe Orts took seventh at twelve seconds and Ryan Kamp eighth at seventeen seconds. Kay De Bruyckere was ninth, twenty seconds behind the winner, and Lars Corsus rounded out the top ten. The available published result does not establish a reliable gap for the tenth-place rider, so it is left unquoted.

Why Kuypers won the sprint

Kuypers is capable of producing a sharp final acceleration even after repeated short efforts, and that ability mattered on a day when attacks did not make a permanent separation. Once Corsus’s move had been absorbed, the decisive task became approaching the final turn near the front with enough speed and control to sprint.

Vanthourenhout’s third place also says something about how strong his start to the autumn has been. Winning Dendermonde did not leave him short of pace in Ardooie, but the circumstances were different. At Dendermonde, a late technical attack was enough to take a narrow solo victory. Here, the contest developed into a drag race between five riders, and Kuypers had the faster finish.

Meeussen deserves credit for splitting the Pauwels Sauzen riders, as they once again had the numbers to dictate much of the tactical contest. The outcome shows that team strength can make a selection without necessarily determining who wins from it. At the end, five men still had the legs to contest the victory.

For Mason, fourth represented another solid ride against the Belgian specialists. He had finished eighth in Dendermonde and stayed within reach of the fastest riders in a very different finale. That is a useful indicator for the British rider ahead of the more technical Meulebeke course.

The form picture before Meulebeke

The early season is developing into a close contest between Kuypers, Vanthourenhout, Wyseure, Corsus and Meeussen. Kuypers has shown that he can contend in a fast, technical contest and sprint at the end. Vanthourenhout has already won with a late attack. Wyseure is consistently near the front without yet claiming an October victory.

That distinction matters before the Berencross in Meulebeke on Saturday 17 October. The Ter Borcht course has been reversed for 2026, and the large bridge has been removed, leaving the sand, steps and short climbs to provide several opportunities for a selection. A rider who failed to escape in Ardooie may find it easier to establish a gap on a different sequence of obstacles.

Kuypers will arrive with confidence from winning a five-rider sprint, but another such finish cannot be assumed. If conditions deteriorate, the balance between riding and running the more difficult sections could become more important than the final acceleration. His rivals now have evidence of where he was strongest, and that knowledge will affect how they race against him.

The next HG Cross should also reveal whether the close margins of the opening week continue. Five riders finishing on the same time is an unusual level of compression for a cyclocross podium contest, and it reflects both the form of the favourites and the nature of the course rather than a lack of attacking.

Kermiscross Ardooie Men 2026 Result