In her first cyclocross outing of the season, Hungary’s Blanka Vas of Team SD Worx clinched an emphatic victory in the women’s GP of Oisterwijk. Competing on home soil, the Dutch field saw strong contenders including Denise Betsema, Annemarie Worst, and Aniek van Alphen, making the win all the more impressive.
The race unfolded in Oisterwijk under a drizzle, setting the stage for Vas to solo her way to the win effortlessly. In a battle for second place, van Alphen eventually edged out Betsema, who admitted to still grappling with a training deficit. According to reports, van Alphen’s superior barrier technique proved decisive, allowing her to pull away from Betsema in the closing lap.
Worst, another pre-race favourite, finished just shy of the podium in fourth place. Overall, the race had a predominantly Dutch presence, with competitors such as van Alphen and Betsema finishing in second and third, respectively. For Betsema, it’s an encouraging sign after spending most of the cyclocross off-season recovering from an injury, it was thought she’d miss some time at the start of the CX season.
Final race results saw Vas securing gold, followed by van Alphen in second place and Betsema rounding out the podium. Annemarie Worst and Francesca Baroni completed the top five.
2023 GP Oisterwijk result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Bart Hazen
