Michael Vanthourenhout wins Superprestige Overijse 2026 after late solo attack

Michael Vanthourenhout won the opening round of the 2026-27 Superprestige in Overijse with a late solo attack, turning a crowded and unpredictable race into a clear victory over Witse Meeussen and Niels Vandeputte.

The Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw rider recovered from a slow start, stayed patient while the front group repeatedly split and reformed, then made the decisive move on the penultimate lap. Meeussen finished 15 seconds behind after a strong final lap, with Vandeputte third at 18 seconds.

Cameron Mason was fourth at 20 seconds and Kevin Kuhn fifth at 29, while a heavy crash involving Gerben Kuypers and Joran Wyseure removed two of the strongest riders from the victory fight late in the race.

How it unfolded

The opening Superprestige round brought the series to one of its most established venues. The Overijse course again mixed repeated climbing with technical descents and changing surfaces, making it difficult for any one rider to control the race for long.

Mason made the strongest start and led the field towards the first off-road sections, with Kuypers, Ryan Kamp, Mees Hendrikx, Meeussen and Laurens Sweeck all prominent. Vanthourenhout was further back than expected and had to spend the opening laps working through traffic.

By the second lap, Mason, Kuypers, Meeussen and Kuhn had created some separation, but Vandeputte drove a chase that brought Vanthourenhout and several others back into contact. The result was a large leading group of around 14 riders entering lap three rather than the early selection the first moves had threatened to create.

Vanthourenhout did not respond by immediately trying to force the race. He moved towards the front, applied pressure where the terrain suited him and then allowed others to spend energy on attacks that repeatedly failed to stick.

Kuhn and Kuypers force the pace

Kuhn was one of the first riders to make the large group uncomfortable. Around the half-hour mark, the Swiss champion accelerated hard enough to stretch the race and reduce the number of riders able to follow cleanly.

Kuypers then took over as one of the main aggressors. The Belgian attacked with Wyseure responding, briefly putting two of the strongest riders at the front at a point when the race finally appeared ready to break apart.

The move ended abruptly on an asphalt descent. Kuypers crashed heavily and Wyseure also went down at the same point, costing both riders the chance to stay in the immediate fight for victory. Wyseure recovered to finish seventh, but the front of the race had changed completely.

Vanthourenhout, Meeussen, Vandeputte, Mason and Kuhn emerged as the strongest group, with Felipe Orts still close enough to remain a threat but repeatedly having to fight his way back towards them.

Vanthourenhout waits until the penultimate lap

The decisive attack did not come until late. After taking a fresh bike and moving to the front at the end of lap seven, Vanthourenhout accelerated on the penultimate circuit and immediately created a gap.

It was the first move the chasers could not contain. Vanthourenhout completed the lap in 6:47, the fastest circuit of the race, and started the final lap with his advantage already large enough that the riders behind were beginning to race one another for the remaining podium places.

Meeussen, Vandeputte, Mason and Kuhn initially formed the chase. Mason and Kuhn faded from the medal fight in the closing phase, while Meeussen found another acceleration and distanced Vandeputte to secure second.

Vanthourenhout had enough time in hand to enjoy the final approach before crossing the line in 1:03:18. Meeussen arrived 15 seconds later, with Vandeputte another three seconds behind.

Patience mattered more than the start

Vanthourenhout’s win was built differently from a race controlled from the opening lap. His poor start forced him to use energy moving forward, but once he reached the leaders he resisted the temptation to match every acceleration.

That became important as the attacks from Kuhn and Kuypers increased the cost of staying near the front. By the time the race reached its final third, Vanthourenhout still had the strength to produce a lap nobody else could match.

The victory is his third at Overijse after previous wins in 2022 and 2025, and his fourth victory in five cyclocross starts this season. It also gives him the first lead of the eight-round Superprestige before the series continues in Middelkerke on 5 November.

Meeussen’s second place was the other notable result. He stayed in contention while more fancied riders attacked around him and still had enough left to get clear of Vandeputte in the final fight for the podium. Mason’s fourth also confirmed his suitability to the climbing-heavy Overijse circuit, even though he could not follow Vanthourenhout’s final acceleration.

Superprestige Overijse men 2026 result