One week after his silver medal on the BC Cross Duathlon at Retie Geert Lauryssen continued his good form at Geel-Bel. The final race of the winter season was no match for the Cecemel-Sportoase athlete, although Pieter Duyck came on very strong during the final run. Hans Moonen came third.
Geel-Bel is known for being a good weather race, but even though being dry, cold took his toll. Geert Lauryssen couldn't be bothered. After las weeks disappointment, where he was faced with a strong Tim Van Hemel, it became clear that no-one would obstruct him.
Unexpected competition
Competition came from an unexpected corner at Geel-Bel, triathletes Pieter Duyck and Hans Moonen are known for their road-capabilities and usually wait until summer to compete. Duyck joined Geert during the first run, along with Lucas Van Deynze and Bart Borghs, who started a tad too fast and had to pay it cash afterwards finishing 12th. Geert attacked on the MTB and gapped the charging Hans Moonen.
Duyck tried to attack in the final run, but he did not manage to overtake Lauryssen. Geert won in 1hr14'32, two minutes ahead of Pieter Duyck. Hans Moonen came third in 1hr16'54, ahead of Lucas Van Deynze and Mathias Cloostermans. Lander Sels came sixth ahead of Simon 'Sikke' Van Roy.
Jana only female
Sikke had some attention to spare to the female race after his finish. His GF, Jana Van Steenbrugghe, was on her way to her first ever victory in cross duathlon. She was the only female to face the blistering cold at Geel-Bel, resulting in a victory and tons of respect.
The masters race was won by Kris Driessens ahead of Robert Van den Boer (BAIK) and Paul Wouters...
Original article on 3athlon.be by Hans Cleemput on 18/03/2018
Translation by @T0v3