Sven Nys (Rabobank) has taken his 8th World Cup and 22nd cyclocross victory this season, beating Francis Mourey (Française des Jeux) in a close race in Lieven, France. Nys had to wait until the last lap before he could shake the Frenchman, who would have been quicker than him in a sprint.
"I shook off Mourey just before the finish," Nys said to Sporza Radio. "I knew that I would lose if it came down to a sprint...In the second last lap I had already put in an attack. Mourey had to let go immediately but I couldn't keep going because my chain jumped. He came back but I waited until the same place on the last lap to put my final attack in."
Nys described the race as the "nicest cross in the world. A unique atmosphere and everything in it." But although he keeps winning, the season is starting to take its toll. "Physically I'm very good, but the freshness is gone a bit. I urgently need to rest a couple of days and then train."
Second placed Francis Mourey did a lot better than he did the previous day in Roubaix, when he was lapped. "I only got home on Friday evening after a week long training camp with four hours a day on the road in Saint-Raphael," he told Cyclo-cross.info . "That's why I couldn't do anything in Roubaix. Here, even more, I also didn't expect. For me, there's only one race that counts: the World Championship. That's why my season started with the French Championship in Sedan and I am still really fresh. In fourteen days I hope together with [John] Gadret that we can do something against Sven Nys in Zeddam."
Another Frenchman, John Gadret (Ag2r), finished third today after suffering a flat tyre not being able to stay in contact with Nys and Mourey.
For the complete report and results from the Lievin, France World Cup, click here.
