Nys powers away from Albert to win a muddy Namur race

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Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) won the first ever cyclo-cross World Cup round at the citadel in Namur, Belgium. The Belgian veteran came out the victor at the end of an exciting last lap duel with Belgian champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus). Nys also took over the lead in the World Cup rankings after five rounds from Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor), who finished fourth in Namur.

"This is why I became a cyclo-cross rider. This is why people watch cyclo-cross, because every second something could happen. Winning here after a battle with the Belgian champion, the world champion and the UCI World Cup leader makes the win even more valuable. In 20 years, this win will still be in my mind," Nys said. "It was super hard. Twice I flatted far from the pit. I had to climb with a flat tire which cost me a lot of energy, but I didn't want to crack. I got angry at myself to transcend myself."

The super exciting finale was preceded by a more tactical build-up during the first half of the race. The selection of a group of about 20 riders was made from behind. The pace in front was set by Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea), Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) and French champion Francis Mourey (FDJ). During the third lap, relatively unknown French rider Aurélien Duval led the pack.

Shortly after that, the big guns started firing. Albert accelerated during the fourth lap and only eight men were able to keep up: Meeusen, Mourey, Duval, Nys, Vantornout, Pauwels and world champion Zdenek Stybar (Quick Step Team). An acceleration from Nys cost Duval his spot in the lead group at the end of the fourth lap.

Nys continued his efforts during the fifth of eight laps, and the 35-year-old was at the front together with a well-performing Vantornout. Stybar closed the gap with the leaders and suddenly Nys faded. "I quickly realized that Nys flatted," said Vantornout. "I accelerated and for a brief moment, I believed in the victory but it was still more than three laps to go."

Stybar neutralized the move from Vantornout in the sixth lap by placing his attack. Vantornout followed the world champion and so did Nys, Albert and Meeusen. For Pauwels, a badly timed flat tire ruined his race and he suddenly trailed by 14 seconds. "I flatted twice today, which is too bad because otherwise I still would've been in the group," Pauwels said.

During the penultimate lap, no damage was done in front and Pauwels managed to get back to five seconds within the five remaining leaders. In the last lap, everybody went flat out. Albert led the group and the first victim of his efforts was Meeusen, soon to be followed by Stybar.

"It was great still to have punch in the last lap. That's what I worked on in Spain. In the end, it was about details. I looked back and noticed that Sven was at 10-15 meters. Sadly enough, I struggled on the descent which allowed him to come back relatively easy," Albert said. Nys sat on Albert's wheel on the last climb and then punched away once they reached the pavement. "I tried to accelerate too but that was a standstill sprint," Albert described his sprint.

Behind Nys and Albert, it was Vantornout who captured the remaining podium spot at 21 seconds. "I've been performing constantly except for Igorre. I was looking forward to these muddy races, but yesterday [GVA in Essen] I crashed in a pool of ice water. I'm Klaas Vantornout, and I realize I don't have the talent of the big four, but on a good day they have to take me into account," Vantornout said.

Behind the podium finishers, Pauwels did a great job for his World Cup ranking by passing Stybar and Meeusen during the last lap. He didn't salvage his leader's jersey, but he is trailing Nys by only five points. "My fourth place in Essen and here in Namur are more than I hoped for," Pauwels said.

World champion Stybar finished fifth ahead of Meeusen, and the Czech was pleased with his performance. At the finish line, he hinted out that the end of his cyclo-cross season had been on his mind. "I didn't expect it, so I'm really happy. Today I soon felt that I had to ride my own tempo. Yesterday I was very dejected during the last laps. If today wouldn't be good, we would have had to make a decision if it were worth continuing my season or not," Stybar said.

French champion Mourey was best of the rest in seventh place at 1:23, just ahead of his surprisingly strong compatriot Duval. Bart Aernouts (Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team) was ninth ahead of the third French rider in the top-10, John Gadret (AG2R La Mondiale).

Yesterday's winner Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) didn't have a good day and he finished a distant 18th. That was still much better than the results from American riders Jonathan Page (Planetbike) and Timothy Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld), who finished 25th and 39th respectively.

The next round of the World Cup is held at the former F1 car circuit in Zolder, Belgium, on December 26.

Full Results

World Cup standings after five rounds