The great showdown of the Belgian Championship has just been ridden in Zangersheide. After the first round Jos Verlooy was in the lead, followed by Pieter Clemens and Yves Vanderhasselt. Verlooy therefore knew what he had to do in the second round: keep the zero on the score board.
Since the riders started in the opposite direction than the classification, we had to wait until the very last moment. The tension was therefore high. It remained exciting until the very last moment. Yves Vanderhasselt was the first rider of the provisional top three to enter the ring. He did what was expected of him and Jeunesse (by Eldorado vd Zeshoek) and jumped a clear round. With this he managed to increase the pressure on Clemens and Verlooy.
Clemens could not afford a time penalty with respect to Vanderhasselt, Verlooy could.Pieter Clemens, who also won the silver medal last year, started after Vanderhasselt. He was determined to keep the zero with Quintini (by Quintender) and he succeeded. At that moment he could only hope that Verlooy would make a mistake.Verlooy knew what to do: jump a clear round.
Of course, Verlooy can handle pressure, he has already proven that several times. With Varoune (v. Verdi) under saddle, he started very promising. And he could keep that promise. He could keep the zero, which immediately means that he succeeds himself as Belgian champion.
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