News Shorts: Bad luck costs Nys in Zonhoven

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Bad luck costs Nys in Zonhoven

Sven Nys started his weekend having to fight back from two mechanicals in the early going of Poldercross-Kruibeke on Saturday, eventually making his way back to the leaders but fading to seventh at the finish.

Sunday during round 2 of the SuperPrestige series in Zonhoven, a puncture in the final lap cost Nys a chance for second from a group that included Rob Peeters, Kevin Pauwels and Lars van der Haar.

"I had something left to fight for second place but lost pressure so I couldn’t take risks in the corners, and if I would’ve switched bikes then Lars would’ve passed me," he said.

Nys was able to hold off Van der Haar to finish fourth. In his post-race interview, he took time to praise winner Wout Van Aert as being head and shoulders above the rest.

"I figured Wout would win as there was a lot of running today. If there’s something Wout is extremely good at, it’s running. We’ll see if the tide turns. If you can ride away by a minute seemingly in a playful manner then you can say you’re the best."

Wout Van Aert (Vastgoedservice-Golden Palace) conquers sand at Zonhoven. (Tim de Waele/TDWSport)

Late crash clips Van der Haar's wings in second round of SuperPrestige

After finishing second in the first round of the SuperPrestige in Gieten earlier this month, Lars van de Haar (Giant-Alpecin) slipped to fifth during round two Sunday in Zonhoven.

Van der Haar was active at the front during the first laps of the race, but he was not able to hold the pace of round-one winner Wout Van Aert (Vastgoedservice-Golden Palace) when Van Aert ran away on the third of 10 laps and soloed home for another win.

"My basic form is good, but today I was missing that little bit extra and I couldn’t find my rhythm," Van der Haar said. "There was a lot of pressure during the race, and I tried to bluff at the beginning, but in the end I paid. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish on the podium, which is a pity because it could have been possible today."

A late-race crash prevented Van der Haar from fighting for a podium spot.

"Sven Nys blocked me at the beginning of the hole and I ran into problems and crashed, unfortunately,” he said. “If today is my worst result, I can be optimistic."

Lars van der Haar and Wout van Aert on the sand climb at Zonhoven (Tim de Waele / TDWSport).

Corset wins National Road Series overall title

Australia's Subaru National Road Series concluded Sunday with the final stage of the Tour of the Goldfields at the top of Mt. Warrenhip in Ballarat.

Ainslie Bakker won the stage, while Georgia Baker secured the overall win and Ruth Corset claimed her third Subaru National Road Series crown.

Stage winner Bakker attacked on the slopes of Mt Warrenheip and narrowly beat series winner Corset.

"I was really happy with that win," Bakker said. "In the last 2km I was waiting to attack. I didn’t know if I could attack Ruth, but it all worked out really well in the end."

Corset finished with a 72 point lead in the NRS standings, narrowly beating Georgia Baker, who finished second with 65 points. Tessa Fabry was third with 29 points.

Corset was happy to cement back-to-back NRS titles, her third in four years.

"I’m so happy and so relieved to finally win the series," she said. "I wouldn’t have been able to do this without my teammates today. It was so windy out there, but Bridie (O’Donnell) and Kate (Perry) did a great job of protecting me out there, and I just gave it everything on the final climb."

In the teams standings, debutants High5 Dream Team won with 135 points, while Bicycle Superstore were second with 104 points. Holden Women’s Cycling Team rounded out the podium with 94 points.

2015 National Road Series overall winner Ruth Corset.