For the ninth time Sven Nys has won the Sven Nys Grand Prix, held in his hometown of Baal. This was also the sixth leg in the Gazet van Antwerp Trophy, in which Nys now also leads. The podium was completed by Zdenek Stybar and Niels Albert.
Nys and Stybar battled hard towards the exciting end, in which Nys was carried by the support of his local and loyal fans. When Nys already looked like the winner with two laps to go, he slipped out, allowing Stybar to come back. Both riders made mistakes in the final lap, but Nys used his power to put a handful of seconds between himself and the Czech rider.
"In the end we didn't know what to do," Nys tried to explain to Sporza why so many mistakes were made. "This was definitely not my easiest victory here. Everything hurts - through the maneuvers, the tough parcours, the cold. But here you can't race other than on pure character. The fans gave me goose bumps. Every year it's the same."
Nys thinks this cross race is really good for the cross scene. "But for us racers it's a nightmare," he said. "Now Sunday the race in Tervuren and afterwards all concentration is onto the Belgian championships."
Stybar didn't know if he was happy or not with second. "I made a mistake in the last lap and then I had to let Nys go. But to ride against Nys in Baal is not easy. Now the Czech championships is important." Asked if he could be really beaten there, Stybar was quite clear. "Of course," he said.
For example by Radomir Simunek, who didn't have a great race in Baal. He crashed hard at the start, taking out Kevin Pauwels. Pauwels was able to continue and finished 12th, while Czech rider Simunek abandoned the race.
Third placed Niels Albert felt that he didn't have it today early on. "I tried to do my best and today that was third." What's worse is that he lost his GvA lead with two races left. "Three points difference that is nothing," he insisted that the fight was far from over. "An intermediate sprint and a Nys who has bad luck is enough to close the gap. I will now focus on the Belgian Championships."
Results
1. Sven Nys in 1h02'44"
2. Zdenek Stybar op 6"
3. Niels Albert 46"
4. Gerben de Knegt 57"
5. Francis Mourey 1'16"
6. Bart Aernouts 1'32"
7. Erwin Vervecken 2'16"
8. Philipp Walsleben 2'22"
9. Klaas Vantornout 2'45"
10. Christian Heule 2'54"
12. Kevin Pauwels 3'34
GvA Trophy standings after six from eight rounds
1. Sven Nys 143 points
2. Niels Albert 140
3. Zdenek Stybar 133
4. Bart Aernouts 88
5. Gerben de Knegt 87
6. Kevin Pauwels 85
7. Klaas Vantornout 73
8. Dieter Vanthourenhout 72
9. Erwin Vervecken 55
10. Radomir Simunek 51