Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) made it two wins in two days as he took yet another commanding victory in the Druivenveldrit in Overijse, Belgium. The cannibal managed to escape from Bart Aernouts (Rabobank-Giant) midway through the penultimate lap of an attritional race, which saw a number of riders come down on one of the sport’s toughest courses. Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) was another of the few to avoid crashing to take third place, ahead of Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) and Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor), who had both come down in the race.
"I thought Kevin Pauwels was the man to beat here," Nys told Sporza at the finish. "He also went really hard in the early laps, but the fact that I could come back gave me a real boost and a lot of confidence."
"I was cautious at the start start and it cost me some strength to come back,” he explained. “That was a risk, but if you’re having a good day, you can do that. When I made the connection, I got to the front and I could descend with both feet in the pedals. Perfect control is an art that you need here.
“I felt I could beat Bart,” he added, “but I was a little afraid of the sprint."
With an assortment of cobbles, woods and winding grass tracks, the course at Overijse is one of only a few that features no manmade obstacles. There was finally evidence of a little rain having fallen on Belgium, with much of the grassy sections filled with sticky ruts, but there was still very little mud to cause problems and riders were only forced into occasional bike changes; Nys himself rode the entire race on the same bike without problems.
The Italians attack from the start before the Belgians take over
Vantornout led the race away from the start, but Italian champion Elia Silvestri (Guerciotti-Selle Italia) attacked though and managed to open up a gap on the cobbled drag towards the beginning of the course proper. Enrico Franzoi (Guerciotti-Selle Italia) dragged the front of the pack across to his teammate by the time he hit the finish line for the first time, only for Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) to take control on the first grassy sections.
Pauwels, who had apparently recovered from his off day in Antwerp the day before, latched on to Meeusen and, with Franzoi leading the chase, the two Belgians began to pull away.
Nys, easy to pick out in his lucky white helmet, found himself caught up in traffic and was now leading the second chase group.
On the cobbled and tarmacked section Nys managed to cross the gap to the back of the first group, which was being led by Bart Aernouts (Rabobank-Giant), and he began to move forward.
Meeusen and Pauwels were eight seconds clear of the Aernouts-led group as they crossed the line at the end of the first full lap. With Aernouts were Dieter Vanthourenhout (BKCP-Powerplus) and Klaas Vantornout, but Nys managed to fight his way across once more.
Suddenly, in the lap’s wooded section, Pauwels seemed to be having problems with his bike and was forced to dismount as Meeusen rode away. The Sunweb-Revor rider soon recovered though and was back up to the front, as Vanthourenhout now led the chase behind.
BKCP-Powerplus is decimated by two crashes on one corner
Disaster struck for Vanthourenhout though, as he crashed on a sharp, off camber left hand bend on a descent through the woods. He slid under the marker tape into the crowd and had to be helped to his feet; Aernouts, then Nys, took over leading the chase as the BKCP-Powerplus rider abandoned the race.
Further back in the field, Vanthournout’s teammate Radomir Simunek crashed in exactly the same spot, with the same consequences.
On the line, the two leaders had grown their advantage to fifteen seconds, and, as Nys began to up the pace to bring it down again, Aernouts and Vantornout were having trouble holding on.
Into the woods once more, Pauwels suffered similar problems to the first time, having to stop suddenly and baulking Meeusen behind him. This gave Nys the chance to close the gap further, and the Kannibaal spent the next half lap steadily reeling the two fugitives in; making contact shortly before they descended through the woods once more.
As they hit the line at the end of lap three – with five to go – there were three in the lead; Meeusen suffered a puncture in the finishing straight though, and the two rivals rode away from him as he tiptoed round to the pits for a bike change.
Meeusen was passed by Aernouts, and caught by Vantornout, but he managed to stay with the latter as they both called into the pits. Up front, Nys, who had spent the best part of three laps chasing, was happy to let Pauwels do the leading, but the Sunweb-Revor rider still didn’t look sure of himself as they climbed through the woods.
Sven Nys begins to assert himself as Pauwels has problems
As the two leaders’ pace relaxed a little, Aernouts managed to fight his way across. Nys began to apply the pressure once more though, making the Rabobank-Giant rider suffer for his place in the lead group; Pauwels paused for a bike change, but managed to rejoin before too long.
Nys was still leading from the front, making his technical skills pay and putting the others into difficulty. As they finished lap four though, the three leaders were just six seconds ahead of Meeusen and Vantornout, with the Telenet-Fidea rider giving his all to close the gap; Nys slowed a little on the sticky mud of the grassy section, and there were now five in front.
After the wooded climb Aernouts muscled his way forward and broke a few metres clear; Nys held him at that distance though, not letting him get too far, then took control once more as they approached the trees once more.
Over the line with three to go, Meeusen accelerated and tried to get away on the cobbled climb. Nys was on him immediately though, but the pace strung the group out a little, with Vantornout beginning to lose contact.
Through the woods Meeusen and Nys began to draw away and, as Pauwels wnt wide as he put his bike on his left shoulder – where the corner suggested his right – the gap opened further. Aernouts managed to get around him and fought his way back up to the leaders yet again, but both Sunweb-Revor riders were now left behind.
It also seemed to be a technical problem for Pauwels as he passed through the pits to change his bike, and he was now a long way behind the rest.
Meeusen goes down as Nys turns the screw
As Nys applied the pressure on the approach to the line, Meeusen slid off on the final corner on the muddy sidewall of his soft tyre. He was caught by Vantornout, who was fourth on the road, and Nys continued to turn the screw with Aernouts fighting hard to hold him.
Meeusen was clearly shaken by his fall and was forced to let Vantornout go, and was then caught by Pauwels. Up ahead, despite a bike change, Aernouts was doggedly clinging to Nys’ back wheel.
Pauwels suffered another disaster though, coming off on the same descent as Vanthourenhout and Simunek – although slightly later on. Nys was now applying one of his trademark late-race accelerations; the Kannibaal was descending on the ragged edge, but was only three seconds ahead of Aernouts at the bell.
Vantournout was 18 seconds back, with Meeusen the next rider behind him.
As Nys hit the sticky, grassy section he accelerated once more, and this time Aernouts was dropped. Despite the Rabobank-Giant rider’s best efforts, the gap began to open, as Nys made his way to what looked like yet another victory.
Having made the break, Nys finished the rest of the lap without taking too many risks and coasted in to take his fourth victory in what is widely regarded as one of the toughest races out there. Aernouts cruised in twelve seconds behind him, with Vantornout a further twenty seconds back; Meeusen, who’d managed to pass Pauwels after the Sunweb-Revor rider’s crash, came in fourth, with Pauwels himself taking fifth.
Two in two for Compton too
Katie Compton (Rabobank) also took her second victory in successive days in the women’s race. Spared the mechanical problems of the previous day though, the US champion took the front from the start and managed to hold her position for the entire race. Things were not easy for Compton though, as she was challenged by Nikki Harris (Telenet-Fidea) for most of the race, with the British rider only fading in the closing laps and allowing Compton to get clear.
Belgian champion Sanne Cant (Boxx) took her second podium of the weekend, holding on to take third behind Harris, well clear of a three-way battle for fourth, which was won by Harris’ Telenet-Fidea teammate Sophie de Boer.
Result Druivenveldrit Overijse Elite Men
1. Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
2. Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team
3. Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor
4. Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea
5. Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb-Revor
6. Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea
7. Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Guerciotti
8. Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink-Leontien.nl
9. Marcel Meisen (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus
10. Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco-Revor
Result Druivenveldrit Overijse Elite Women
1. Katie Compton (USA) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team
2. Nikki Harris (GBr) Telenet-Fidea
3. Sanne Cant (Bel) Boxx Veldritacademie
4. Sophie de Boer (Ned) Telenet-Fidea
5. Linda van Rijen (Ned) Skil-Koga
6. Arenda Grimberg (Ned)
7. Joyce Vanderbeken (Bel) Cycling Team Vermeeren
8. Ellen Van Looy (Bel) Kriekel Cycling Team
9. Hilde Quintens (Bel) Van Goethem Cycling Team
10. Amy Dombroski (USA) Crank Brothers