By Brecht Decaluwé Sven Nys of Team Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner won the World Cup's fifth round in...
Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner) wins (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
By Brecht Decaluwé
Sven Nys of Team Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner won the World Cup's fifth round in Igorre, Spain. The Belgian Champion and Klaas Vantornout accelerated away halfway into the race from a group of four riders that included Erwin Vervecken and Thijs Al. The duo was evenly matched in the mud, but a crash from Vantornout in the penultimate lap resulted in a definitive gap and a fourth victory in Igorre for Nys.
The Belgians dominated the Spanish World Cup event by placing five riders in the top-five. Further back, the crowd that had showed up in reasonable numbers spotted Constantino Zaballa as the first local rider in twelfth position. Zaballa finished just ahead of American Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) who racked up his best World Cup result of the season before heading back to the USA for its national championships.
Czech Champion Stybar didn't do a great job in defending his second place in the World Cup classification by finishing sixth in Igorre. He now drops back to third place behind Nys and Bart Wellens. It is the second World Cup victory of the season for Nys.
