Vice champion Mathias Van Hoof looks back on an eventful World Cup Open final
Last weekend the 7th and 8th races for the Enduro World Championship were on the calendar. It was the second consecutive weekend in Portugal, in Marco de Canaveses, a picturesque village east of Porto. In the meantime, we know how the thriller between Mathias Van Hoof (Husqvarna) and title competitor Dietger Damiaens ended. But it could just as well have turned out differently...
After 2 days of heated battle and a total of 12 time trials in all possible conditions, both riders again had the same number of points on Sunday evening. What's more, they also had exactly the same number of first places and the same number of second places, the last test was won by the sympathetic Husqvarna rider... But the day's victory went to Damiaens and with it the title in the Open 4 stroke class. It really couldn't be more exciting!
Things started well for Van Hoof on Saturday. All tests were driven in the opposite direction to last weekend. He clocked the fastest time on the extreme test, giving him a big lead over the competition. In the cross test Damiaens was better and won, but Van Hoof countered in the enduro test and was still almost 26 ahead of the Limburger after the first round. In the extreme, the Husqvarna rider went off and lost many places and time, but kept his lead by more than 8 seconds. This lead remained this way until the end of Saturday and Van Hoof took the full 20 points and the lead in the OS4 World Championship. “Apart from 2 small crashes, it was a perfect day, my Husqvarna FE 350 is doing great, I felt good and had to fight hard for this victory,” this is what Van Hoof said in the evening.
On Sunday it was really enduro weather, with buckets of rain... So Van Hoof's advantage. He won test 1 with more than 25 seconds ahead of Dietger... Perhaps it turned out to be a bit too much of a good thing. “ Dietger was the first to enter the test but was diverted by the Marshalls track via the GP section. He therefore had to involuntarily do a part of the course that was not intended for our category.” Test 2 was also for the Kempen resident. In the enduro test the KTM rider hit back and the difference became smaller again. The rain made driving almost impossible, it became a real muddy mess. But Van Hoof did not back down and won the extreme test again. Afterwards, he had to give in by barely 2 seconds in the cross test and thus moved on to the last and decisive enduro test. It was extremely exciting, and Van Hoof gave everything.
“What tension. Coming out of the last cross test, I knew the difference was very small and that I really had to give everything in the last test to earn the victory and the championship. I went ALL IN, rode the test of my life almost flawlessly... But we didn't see our time on the live timing... Stress and tension everywhere and after about 30 minutes my time appeared. In the end it was 5 seconds faster than Dietger. We both rode at and sometimes over the limit, pushing each other to a higher level and all the more beautiful for it. “
There was still confusion everywhere. The first extreme test was still counted in the live rankings and therefore the Herentals player would have won. After the finish, however, the race management decided that the times of the first test would be deleted for all Open Class riders. Some riders had been sent in the wrong direction. This meant that Van Hoof's 26 second lead disappeared. That had very serious consequences, as his lead suddenly became a deficit of 5,73 seconds. The day's victory went to Damiaens and also the title because the last match counts in the event of an equal score.
“I absolutely understand the fair decision of the race, but it is really sad. I really liked that test and that is exactly what is being taken out! I made almost no mistakes for a whole day, I won 3 out of 5 tests and still it wasn't enough. Dietger takes the day's victory and the title, although I have the same points as him. I cannot describe my disappointment. But I am happy for Dietger, he was the fastest together with me and I wish him congratulations on his title. I went down fighting with an equal number of wins, second places and points. This was the toughest championship of my life, a shame about those five seconds...unbelievable,” said an emotional Husqvarna pilot after the final World Cup race in Portugal.
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