Cameron Mason brushes off Vanthourenhout's angry abuse : 'A taste of his own medicine'

Mason once again put in a strong performance at the Middelkerke cyclocross race and was in contention for the top spots for a long time. The Brit had a tough time at times, but as the race entered its final stages, he closed the gap and immediately decided to push ahead. He cut inside Vanthourenhout, who clearly saw Mason coming.

Still, the move on the inside caused Vanthourenhout to crash; he said he lost his balance for a moment and slid out as a result. “It’s a legal manoeuvre, but it caused me to lose my balance, and suddenly I found myself in sixth or seventh place,” he said afterward, once Vanthourenhout had calmed down a bit.

Right after the finish, the Belgian was actually a lot more aggressive. He crossed the line shaking his head and waited for Mason. Mason finished fourth—two spots behind Vanthourenhout—so a confrontation quickly ensued. Vanthourenhout first gave the Brit a light tap and then shouted, among other things, “f*ck you.”

Mason looked surprised at first, but he quickly took offence at his fellow cyclocross rider’s attack. With fire in his eyes, he shot back, but his words couldn’t be heard over the camera audio. In the end, the two went their separate ways, though Vanthourenhout was fined by the organisers for his behaviour.

After the race, Vanthourenhout tried to put the incident into perspective. “That was the most heated part of the race, because I don’t think he should have cut in on the inside right before that climb. It was after the race, and I was a bit disappointed. But now I’m happy to have a podium finish. That moment played a role, but it’s also a race.”

Mason was clearly still feeling frustrated, so he posted a short message on Instagram. “Something, something, ‘own medicine,’ something, something...” he wrote, referring to the phrase “a taste of your own medicine.”

Mason concluded his post with: “Another solid race—on to the next one.” The Brit has been on a roll this season. He started with an eighth-place finish in Dendermonde in October and then finished in the top ten in Ardooie (fourth), Meulebeke (sixth), Overijse (fourth), and Oudenaarde (fifth). He added a fourth-place finish to that list in Middelkerke.