Niels Albert (BKCP Powerplus) (Image credit: ISPA)
World Cyclo-cross Champion Niels Albert took his second consecutive cyclo-cross victory of the season in Neerpelt, Belgium on Sunday, putting on such a display of dominance that he spent well over half the race off the front of the race.
Only Czech champion Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) could match the 23-year-old from Tremolo for the first laps of the race, but he too faded from the flying Belgian's wheel after 20 minutes of racing.
Albert dedicated the win to his team's managers Christoph and Philip Roodhooft, who suffered a death in their family. "I was motivated to win [for them] and I succeeded. It is the only way I can communicate my support."
Belgian champion Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) was a shadow of his usual self after a summer spent racing on the mountain bike circuit. He made a lot of mistakes during the race, but said that he was not panicking about his form quite yet.
"I know what I'm doing - I will have to step up in October. [Albert] had a great summer, I will do my best to close the gap in the coming weeks."
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