Joran Wyseure wins Superprestige Middelkerke 2026 after chaotic final laps under the lights

Joran Wyseure won the 2026 Superprestige Middelkerke after a frantic final three laps under the floodlights, beating Michael Vanthourenhout and Kevin Kuhn after repeatedly losing and regaining contact with the front.

The Crelan-Corendon rider crossed the line in 58:10, four seconds ahead of Superprestige leader Vanthourenhout and five clear of Kuhn. Cameron Mason finished fourth at 10 seconds after his own late crash, with Jente Michels completing the top five.

The race was the second round of the 2026-27 Superprestige and the first Middelkerke edition held as an evening cross. The move from its traditional winter slot created a very different atmosphere, but the compact Noordzeecross circuit still produced the same combination of sand, short climbs and positioning battles.

How it unfolded

Gerben Kuypers made the most aggressive start and quickly stretched the race. The local rider opened a small gap in the opening minutes, with Felipe Orts, Vanthourenhout, Mason, Mees Hendrikx, Wyseure, Michels, Kuhn and Niels Vandeputte all involved in the first chase.

Kuypers could not make the move stick. A mistake brought the front back together and the race settled into a pattern in which the composition of the lead group changed almost every lap.

Mason was particularly active. The British champion moved to the front around halfway and repeatedly raised the pace, enough to put Kuypers under pressure and force Vanthourenhout to spend time managing the group rather than attacking.

By the middle of the race, seven riders had established themselves at the front: Mason, Vanthourenhout, Wyseure, Kuhn, Kuypers, Michels and Orts. The nearest chasers were already around half a minute behind, but nobody inside the lead group had yet managed to create a decisive gap.

Wyseure attacks but mistakes keep resetting the race

Wyseure changed the rhythm with a little over three laps remaining. He accelerated hard enough that only Vanthourenhout and Kuhn initially looked capable of following.

Then came the first mistake. Wyseure misjudged the barriers, lost momentum and was forced to chase back to the front. The hesitation allowed several riders to reconnect, turning what had briefly looked like the decisive three-man selection back into a larger fight.

The surface was becoming increasingly treacherous as the evening dew settled. That mattered on a course already full of short turns and abrupt changes in direction. Riders who had been technically secure earlier in the race suddenly began making small but costly errors.

Vanthourenhout and Mason clash

The most controversial moment arrived on lap eight. Mason tried to come through on the inside of Vanthourenhout before the sand section, and the two made shoulder-to-shoulder contact.

Vanthourenhout attempted to hold his position but lost balance and slid out, costing himself several places. Mason then crashed over the barriers shortly afterwards. Both riders managed to recover, but the sequence changed the shape of the front group again.

Vanthourenhout later received a fine for the contact. He still managed to ride back into contention and, by the final lap, had recovered enough ground to challenge for the victory.

Wyseure had briefly found himself alone at the front after the incident, only to slide out in a greasy corner on the penultimate lap. Kuhn took advantage and moved ahead, while Vanthourenhout and the remaining chasers closed once more.

Wyseure finally gets the last lap right

The bell rang with Wyseure, Vanthourenhout and Kuhn effectively together at the front. After so many mistakes and regroupings, the final lap became less about who had produced the strongest attack earlier and more about who could ride the decisive sections cleanly.

Wyseure made sure he reached the barriers first. Having already made one costly mistake there, he deliberately controlled his entry before accelerating again once clear of the section.

That gave him the freedom to choose his own lines through the final technical passages. Vanthourenhout tried to close before the sand but could not get back onto his wheel, while Kuhn remained close enough to keep both riders under pressure without finding the acceleration needed to pass.

Wyseure carried a small advantage into the final stretch and held it to the line, taking his second victory of the season after his win at HG Cross Heerde.

Vanthourenhout keeps the series lead

Second place was enough for Vanthourenhout to retain the Superprestige lead after his victory in Overijse. He now has 29 points after two rounds.

Wyseure, Kuhn and Mason are all five points behind on 24, leaving the overall classification tightly packed before the third round in Niel on 11 November.

The result also underlines Wyseure’s form heading into the European Championships in Zeddam. He arrived in Middelkerke after missing the Koppenbergcross with a stomach illness and still managed to win a race that repeatedly threatened to get away from him.

More importantly, he won it by adapting. The decisive move was not his first attack, or even his second. It came from surviving his own errors, staying close enough to the front and then finally putting together a clean final lap when the race demanded one.

Superprestige Middelkerke men 2026 result