Kannibaal takes attritional race as Kevin Pauwels struggles; Marianne Vos dominates women’s field once more
Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) rose above the disappointment of the previous day’s abandon in the Gazet van Antwerpen (GvA) Trofee race in Essen, to come out on top of a tough, attritional World Cup race in the Walloon citadel of Namur. The Kannibaal’s race was not without its mechanical issues however, but two punctures during the contest were not enough to prevent him from surging away from Belgian champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) in the final two hundred metres to take the victory.
Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) crossed the line to take third place, some 21 seconds behind the two big rivals’ battle, with World up leader Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor) taking his second fourth place in two days.
With Nys trailing Pauwels by just fifteen points at the start of the day, victory was enough to see the Kannibaal take over the jersey.
“Cross at its best,” was how Nys described his victory at the end of the race. “The heroism that can happen every second is the sort of spectacle that ‘cross can provide.”
“I had two punctures in the same place,” he explained, “and both right at the point when I was about to take the race in my hands. Because the pits were so far away my legs were burning both times; so much that I thought I wouldn’t be able to win.
“An acceleration on the final climb was enough,” he told Sporza. “I won on adrenalin, I’ve gone beyond myself.
“I’ll go home with a really good feeling,” he added.
The course around Namur’s hilltop citadel is a tough one in the best conditions, with the previous week dominated by rain though – as well as snow falling on the day of the race – turned the course into a sticky morasse. Several sections, particularly a long off-camber straight, were rendered almost unridable, and all riders were forced to change their bikes several times.
The topography of the course included two steep drop offs and several steep run ups – one of which seemed almost vertical in the conditions – meaning that there was no need to include any manmade obstacles. The toughness of the course, and the muddiness of the conditions, made the race as attritional as any in the elite calendar.
Vantornout away first as usual but this time it sticks
Vantornout made his usual sprint away from the start line, but the Sunweb-Revor rider was passed after the first corner by Francis Mourey (FDJ), and the French champion pulled a few lengths clear. Mourey was followed closely by Vantornout, Elia Silvestri (Selle Italia-Guerciotti), Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) and Bart Aernouts (Rabobank-Giant). Meeusen’s Telenet-Fidea teammate Rob Peeters led the chasing pack, which contained most of the race favourites.
The pack all came together once more as the race hit the steep run up; Meeusen then strung things out on the off-camber straight. Nys, Albert and World champion Zdenek Stybar (Quick Step) were all present, near the front, but Pauwels was further back in the group. Caught behind at this early stage were Essen winner Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) and Dutch champion Lars Boom (Rabobank), who was riding his first race of the season.
As Mourey kept the pressure on, he pulled Meeusen, Vantornout and Aernouts clear, and they were a few seconds clear across the line at the end of the first lap. Radomir Simunek (BKCP-Powerplus) pulled the rest across though, and it was all together once more; Wellens and Boom were left behind though, with both suffering under the fast pace.
The next lap saw the group bunch up on the steep run up once more, with Meeusen stringing things out on the off-camber section again. As they crossed the line for the second time though, the lead group numbered around 25, which was split only by a missed pedal from Stybar as he came out of the pits just before the end of the lap.
Mourey continued to apply the pressure, briefly pulling Vantornout and Meeusen clear again. Meeusen attacked on the off-camber straight for a third time, which split the bunch this time; across the line, he was a few seconds clear, with Albert, Pauwels and Vantornout.
Three laps in and the race is down to eight riders
Nys led the first chase group, along with Stybar, Mourey and Aurelien Duval (Club Champagne Charlott'). All of a sudden there was nobody else in sight, and the race had been reduced to these two groups of four. The eight all came together as they crossed the off-camber section again; Meeusen passed Albert as he struggled on the slippery surface, then Nys surged to the front to take control.
Meeusen took the front again and stretched the group into a line once more. 23-year-old Duval – who had returned from a two year ban for a norfenfluramine positive less than two months before, and was unused to such exalted company – began to lose contact.
The acceleration of Meeusen pulled Nys and Vantornout clear, with Albert leading the remaining four in pursuit. Stybar made it up to the leaders on the off-camber section as the remaining chasers were splitting behind him.
Vantornout attacked on the climb back up to the top of the citadel, which allowed most riders to stay in the saddle for much of the way. Nys was unable to respond, and suddenly looked tired, but his problem was mechanical rather than physical in the shape of a puncture.
The conditions take their toll as the race enters its closing stages
As they crossed the line with three laps to go, Vantornout led Stybar and Pauwels by a few seconds, with Albert twelve seconds back, and Nys with Meeusen at fifteen; Mourey had lost contact on the climb and would not see the front group again.
Nys was now looking strong again with his replacement bike and he and Albert were gaining on the leaders again. Stybar escaped the front group just as the pair was coming across though; Vantornout managed to get across to him, but Pauwels was now beginning to struggle and drifted back to Nys and Albert.
Nys made it across to Stybar and Vantornout, with Albert next to make it across; Meeusen too managed to struggle up to the group before the end of the lap, making a group of five with two laps to go, but Pauwels now seemed out of it, fourteen seconds behind.
Nys was continuing to apply the pressure; with the overall World Cup lead at stake as well as the race, the last thing he wanted was Pauwels to make it back up to the leaders. It was Stybar that managed to get away though, once again attacking on the off-camber section; Meeusen was now the one beginning to struggle, and was being gradually reeled in by a determined Pauwels.
Nys chased down Stybar, but they were soon joined by Vantornout, but the three were not away for long as Albert and Meeusen were back up to the front before the end of the lap. At the bell it was the same group of five in the lead, but Pauwels had managed to claw back the deficit to just five seconds.
Immediate pressure from Albert dropped Meeusen and gapped Stybar; Nys came around Vantornout – who had been unable to respond – and began to close in on the Belgian champion. On the long run up the gap got smaller and smaller, and the two were together as they hit the last steep drop off and rode up to the citadel together.
As they passed the pits Nys accelerated and Albert had no answer; as he entered the finishing straight alone, the normally cool Kannibaal let out a whoop as he punched the air with both hands and crossed the line to take the victory. Albert followed five seconds later, with Vantornout 21 seconds back; just ahead of Pauwels, who had caught and passed both Meeusen and Stybar on the final lap.
Nys’ victory – and the 80 points that went with it – saw the Kannibaal take over the lead in the overall World Cup; he now leads Pauwels by just five points with three races left in the series.
Marianne Vos dominates the women’s field again
Earlier in the day Marianne Vos (Nederland Bloeit) followed her own dominant Essen victory with another in the women’s race. The World champion finished almost a minute clear of France’s Lucie Chainel-Lefevre, who was in turn just ahead of US Champion Katie Compton (Rabobank-Giant).
Vos started fast once again, as Compton suffered a mechanical incident that saw her stationary on the line as the field pulled away. A later crash on the course’s slippery off-camber section saw the American set back further, with Vos able to take full advantage.
Despite a lowly eighth place, European champion Daphny van den Brand (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) holds on to her lead in the overall classification, 26 points clear of Compton.
Result World Cup Namur Elite Men
1. Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
2. Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus
3. Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor
4. Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb-Revor
5. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick Step
6. Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea
7. Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ
8. Aurelien Duval (Fra) Club Champagne Charlott'
9. Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team
10. John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
Result World Cup Namur Elite Women
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Nederlnd Bloeit
2. Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (Fra)
3. Katherine Compton (USA) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team
4. Sanne Cant (Bel) Boxx Veldritacademie
5. Helen Wyman (GBr) Kona Factory Racing
6. Eva Lechner (Ita) Colnago Fabre Sudtirol
7. Sophie de Boer (Ned) Telenet-Fidea
8. Daphny van den Brand (Ned) AA Drink-Leontien.nl
9. Pauline Ferrand Prevot-(Fra) LaPierre International
10. Kaitlin Antonneau (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com