Bentveld battles local favorite over silver and bronze in front of home crowd: "It gave me goosebumps, really"

Leonie Bentveld secured another Dutch medal on Sunday by finishing third at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in the U23 category for women. The Frisian, still only in her second year as a U23, was very pleased with her race in the Czech Republic. She undertook a long battle for the silver medal, against local heroine Krystina Zemanova.

"It went quite well. I think I rode an almost perfect race and felt very strong, but in the final lap, I had to concede the second place based on power. But I am very satisfied," Bentveld said about half an hour after her race.

"Krystina is of course a year older, and you can usually notice that in the final lap, so I thought I would put pressure on her in the round before that," she described her strategy. "It might have worked, but racing in front of her home crowd, she performed well in the end. It was a great battle, so I can ultimately be satisfied with third place," Bentveld added.

She also greatly enjoyed the atmosphere in Tábor, especially because she could compete for victory with a Czech rider. "It gave me goosebumps, really. Despite the struggle, I managed to enjoy it a bit. It was really cool to race here and the audience was fantastic. I also noticed a lot of Dutch fans, so that was absolutely great," Bentveld concluded.

Bentveld reflects on a very beautiful cyclo-cross season

As a World Cup winner, she can certainly look back on a very good year. "I only just started to realize everything that has happened. This past week, I've been living up to the World Championships in a very relaxed manner and was able to enjoy the World Cup success a bit longer, which is why I also felt great at the start here. The U23 category spans four years, and if you can deliver such a battle during that time, then that's just beautiful."

"Last year, I definitely did not expect this," she concludes. "Take, for example, Zonhoven, where I finished seventh now, but last year, I was simply lapped and pulled out of the race there. Then you realize that you are doing well."