UCI Cyclocross World Cup organizer Golazo's new course in Namur was met with mixed reviews Sunday as heavy rain and cold weather made for a treacherous lap.

Cyclocross UCI rules prohibit "stair descents," but Golazo turned the flagstone steps into ramps by packing sandbags and loose sand into the stairs.

However, by the time the elite men took to the course, heavy rain and erosion from the previous field's races had exposed the stairs, creating deep holes in the bottom that led to several crashes.

Belgian champion Toon Aerts was leading Mathieu van der Pol when he lost his front wheel in the hole and crashed. The mistake caught up with Aerts on the last lap, and the combination of the crash and the crash gave Van der Pol the win.

Behind him, Tom Pidcock also crashed, breaking his seat post and losing his podium spot to Cornet Van Kessel.

Aerts said the course was for real 'crossers.

"It was a constantly changing competition, and with the cold and the pain I can't even think about what happened. I hope later in my career I can think about this and talk about it."

Riders who previewed the course last week were surprised to see the changes that Golazo organizer and former cyclo-cross world champion Erwin Vervecken told Sport.be before the race: "There are beautiful cobblestones near the famous descent, which we I want to incorporate it into the course. To get to this cobblestone road (Route du Canon), there is a long, technical and sometimes steep descent. The last section will be covered with a new layer of sand to even out the bumps in the subgrade.

Last week, British champion Tom Pidcock described the course as "interesting ...... and Van der Pol's father Adly said, "They have succeeded in turning something beautiful into something ugly."

"What they brought in has no value. It's dangerous, it's sensation-seeking, and it has nothing to do with cyclocross," he told Het Nieuwsblad.

Lucinda Brand previewed the course with team manager Sven Nys, picked the best lines, and posted a video of it on Youtube.

The course has always been for climbers, but steep cobblestone climbs and slippery off-chamber turned Sunday's course into a battle of attrition.

Brand crashed on the descent but held off Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado for the win.

Conditions took a turn for the worse on Sunday, as heavy rain poured down on the elite racers, creating deep puddles on most descents and making the off-camber sections slippery and greasy.

World Cup leader Eli Iserbito returned to the pits in the cold, donned his jacket, and abandoned the race.