Mathias Van Hoof update BK Enduro Chimay & Lierneux
During the 5th test for the BK Enduro in Chimay on Sunday, June 24, BETA-DENICOL enduro pilot Mathias Van Hoof managed a nice 2de place at the E3 Inters and finished 12thde scratch. With this he did well in the standings for the Belgian Championship, which this year has 14 matches and will last until the end of October and concludes with 2 matches in the Netherlands.
For the second time, an enduro sprint was organized in the region near the French border. That meant virtually no connection for the riders, but it did mean 2 very nice tests. A total of 7 laps were driven, the first of which was a reconnaissance lap and did not count. Due to the length of the tests, it became a very long day of 9 hours, with a total of 2 hours when adding all the tests! “I was completely devastated at the end,” Mathias began his story. “It was hot with long technical stages but beautiful. I immediately started with a 12de time scratch and managed to improve 3 places in test 2. This is how I stayed around 3 and 10 for the first 12 lapse place hang, and a 2de in E3. Halfway through the race I made 2 mistakes and my lead of 27 seconds over my friend and competitor, Wim Vanderheyden became smaller and smaller. With 2 tests to go, the difference was barely 0.57 seconds. In the very last test I gave it my all and was almost 4 seconds faster than Wim and was therefore able to take the 2de secure a place in E3. It felt like a victory after a very long period of rehabilitation in 2017,” said the very happy BETA rider.
The next heat was already on the program last weekend. This time the posts and ribbons were placed in one of the most beautiful regions of Belgium in Lierneux to be specific. Due to the Enduro World Championship in Italy, this round did not count for the inter E1 and scratch classification, but did count for the E1 & E2 classification. This time the riders had to complete 3 rounds of 4h2min with 10 tests. With temperatures above 2C and a total time of more than 30 hours on the bike, it was another tough day for the BETA – DENICOL enduro pilot.
“I got off to a good start and after 3 tests I was in 9th place scratch, just 11 seconds behind the top 5. However, in test 4 in the quarry things went terribly wrong. Coming out of a bend I was pushed out too much and I just touched a tree with the rear wheel, resulting in a serious crash. The next 2 laps I had a hard time and I really didn't feel fresh with the heat and long connection. The tests were far apart, which made it difficult for me to find a rhythm.”
The crash knocked Mathias back from 9th to 11th place. However, he was able to recover well and make up time in the last lap. In the end he just finished in the top 10 with a 10th place in the general classification and a 2nd place in the E3 class. As a result, after a difficult start to the season, he is still in 2nd place in the E3 class with equal points than Wim Vanderheyden.
“ What a bad day. Too many falls today. I am satisfied that I came back to 10th place after such a difficult and tough day. In the tests in which I did not fall, I always achieved times around 7th place and that is positive because that is an improvement compared to a few weeks ago. Only now I have to learn from my mistakes and work on them for the future. It's a long season and anything is still possible. I will continue to work and train hard and hope to be on the podium this year. That would be nice,” concluded the BETA DENICOL rider.
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