Modderveld

38:54 Aitana Casas brings up the rear at 67 seconds. One rider did not make it to the line.

38:53 Femke Geens crosses the line 28th, at 1:06.

38:45 Nina Claes crosses the line 27th, at 0:58.

37:56 Britt Vandevelde crosses the line 3rd, at 0:09.

37:55 Merel Verstraete crosses the line 2nd, at 0:08.

37:47 Nore Michiels wins by 8 seconds.

37:40 Ride the little bridge instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

37:30 It is getting harder through the wet meadow with every lap that goes by.

37:10 Sara Maes dives past Amber Ceulemans in the steps.

36:40 Merel Truyens has to let Anke Vranken go in the mud strip.

36:20 Kateřina Černá is too quick for Marthe Hermans in the deep furrow and lies 24th now.

36:10 Hardly anybody is getting off today, and that makes it an hour with no rest in it.

35:40 The line through the hollow is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

35:20 Febe Willems dives past Merel Truyens in the mud strip.

35:10 The lines are fixed on a course this dry; they are all riding the same rut.

34:10 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

33:50 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

33:40 Yara Goossens had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Markéta Veselá in the wide section.

33:10 Anke Vranken takes the other line through the steep side and comes out ahead of Markéta Nováková.

33:00 It is dusting up in the slippery descent; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

31:20 Nore Michiels is out on their own at the front.

31:10 Britt Vandevelde takes the other line through the wet meadow and comes out ahead of Anke Cuypers.

29:50 The sand in the start straight is loose and deep — that is where the hour will be decided.

29:30 Nore Michiels goes past Nina Dierckx and takes the lead.

29:00 Get the sequence of corners wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

28:50 Sara Michiels had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Élise Rousseau in the long straight.

28:30 The wet meadow is getting looser with every lap.

28:20 Britt Vandevelde goes past Élise Rousseau in the wide section.

26:40 In the little bridge Anke Cuypers gains a place on Élise Rousseau.

26:30 There are holes in the line through the pit that nobody is riding out any more.

26:10 All five are hunting a different line through the little climb at the back; none of them is finding the good one.

26:00 Ride the mud strip instead of running it and you take half a second out of the rest every lap.

25:34 Nina Dierckx punctures in the deep furrow and pulls out. No spare bike.

24:50 The line through the steep side has opened right up.

24:40 Amandine Bernard has to let Britt Vandevelde go in the steps.

24:20 Nina Dierckx has opened a gap and is alone up there.

24:10 Camille Fontaine had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Markéta Nováková in the slippery descent.

23:30 Justine Renaud takes Marthe Beyens back in the little bridge.

22:50 Markéta Nováková dives past Justine Renaud in the steps.

22:00 Merel Verstraete is too quick for Markéta Veselá in the off-camber and lies 8th now.

21:20 It is getting harder through the sequence of corners with every lap that goes by.

21:00 Tyre pressure is half the race today, and nobody is saying so.

20:50 The hollow is drying out on the side the sun is on.

20:20 Half the field is running the hollow by now.

18:45 Ilse Desmet punctures in the start straight, changes bike and loses 13 seconds.

18:30 Nore Michiels takes the other line through the slippery descent and comes out ahead of Aline Vanwalleghem.

18:20 The pits are working flat out.

18:10 The line through the steep side is shifting; they are riding a metre off where they were a moment ago.

17:50 Dust over the wide section — there is no grip left in the corners.

17:40 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

17:20 Emma Beyens takes the other line through the wet meadow and comes out ahead of Ilse Desmet.

17:00 Marthe Beyens goes past Ilse Desmet in the long straight.

15:50 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

14:30 The mud strip is costing a few seconds more every lap.

14:20 The gap to the first chaser is 4 seconds.

14:00 The ground in the off-camber has been ridden rock hard.

13:40 A day for racing on the pedals; there is nothing to slide away.

12:10 Febe Willems has to let Sara Maes go in the pit.

12:00 It is dusting up in the hairpin; anyone at the back is riding in a cloud.

11:30 In the steps Sara Michiels gains a place on Emma Beyens.

10:10 Amber Ceulemans had been sitting on the wheel a while and goes past Britt Vandevelde in the slippery descent.

9:30 Sara Maes takes Britt Vandevelde back in the deep furrow.

9:20 On a dry course there is little to win in the corners; it has to come from the legs.

8:40 Kateřina Černá dives past Nina Hermans in the long straight.

8:00 Amber Ceulemans is too quick for Manon Barbier in the long straight and lies 20th now.

7:50 Sara Maes takes the other line through the deep furrow and comes out ahead of Justine Renaud.

7:20 The front group is riding on sight, not on line; it all looks the same out there.

6:00 Half the field is running the steep side by now.

5:30 Dry and dusty, and by the end you cannot tell who is who.

5:20 The line through the start straight has opened right up.

5:10 They are nearly all taking the same side through the wet meadow now; the other line is finished.

5:00 Hardly a bike change all day — there is nothing to wash off.

4:30 With 8 up front, and Nina Dierckx on the front of it.

3:50 There are holes in the line through the long straight that nobody is riding out any more.

2:10 Get the mud strip wrong and you are standing still — and it is happening more and more.

1:30 The lines are fixed on a course this dry; they are all riding the same rut.

0:50 The course is hard underneath; this is a day for anyone who can keep the power on.

0:20 The wide section is getting looser with every lap.

0:05 Nina Dierckx goes past Nore Michiels and takes the lead.

0:00 Modderveld: dry course, 5 laps. Mostly mud and climbing.