Marie Schreiber ended her 2024-2025 cyclocross winter with a glorious victory at the Exact Cross Maldegem on February 5th. The Luxembourg champion beat the Casasola – Van der Heijden duo of Corendon-Crelan. With a well-placed attack on the penultimate lap, she soloed to an impressive sixth win of the cross season. ‘Above all, I had to stay calm and place my acceleration at the right moment,’ Schreiber said after topping the podium.
Marie Schreiber continued, “It’s still a relief that I managed to win here. The two riders from Corelan-Corendon tried to play the team game to beat me. It was important to stay calm in such a tactical situation. They took turns attacking, but I was not on the limit in their wheel. I knew where I was strongest on the course, so it was a matter of waiting for my moment.”
“I did get a bit nervous at one point, but then I thought back to the World Cup in Benidorm, where I also rode a very strong race end. On the penultimate lap, I placed my acceleration and went full out. This was my last race of the season. So I planned to ride myself completely empty and keep going until the finish. After this, I have off-season and can be as tired as I want. I was keen to finish my season with a win. Now the belt will go off for a while. My road season doesn’t start until April.”
Sports director Christian Kos added, “The attack is the best defence. Van der Heijden and Casasola took turns trying to make things difficult for Marie, but Marie stayed calm and was able to parry the attacks. She had in her mind to pull through well once to put pressure on the others. That worked out very well. Beforehand, we had agreed to end the season on a high and that worked out perfectly with a win in her last cross of this year.”
