Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea) won his first World Cup race of the season in Pontchâteau, France after outsprinting Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) on the line. Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) took the sprint for third ahead of a small group of rivals.
"It was important to get to the front,” said Pauwels to Sporza, referring to the final corner of the race. “We went into the bend too fast and so Albert lost time."
"The course went well for me,” he explained. “I was a bit far back [in the pack] when Niels rode away, but felt I had the strength to close the gap further on. That worked, but just for me, and then it was just important to stay away together.
"This was a course that suited me,” Pauwels added. “Around the New Year the ‘crosses were quite heavy and I am doing better now they’re ‘lighter’."
With few obstacles, and dry weather, the Pontchâteau course proved to be very fast and most of the riders rode the first three laps in a large peloton. The one real incident in the early stages happened when French champion Francis Mourey (FDJ) slid off on a fast corner; everybody else managed to get around him though, and no one else came down.
On the fourth lap Albert put in a huge acceleration and managed to pull well clear of the pack. The recently crowned Belgian champion was chased by Pauwels with Albert’s teammate Philipp Walseben and Klaas Vantournout. Pauwels managed to catch Albert before the end of the lap, but the other two riders couldn’t match the 26-year-old’s pace and dropped back to the group.
The remainder of the race saw Albert and Pauwels working together to steadily increase their lead over the chasing pack; still big enough to be referred to as a peloton. As they took the bell with one lap to go the pair led by 47 seconds over thirteen riders, led by Walseben; the two Belgians began to look at one another with the finishing sprint in mind.
Mid-way around the final lap, with Pauwels and Albert cruising towards the line, Marco Fontana (Cannondale) misjudged a corner and hit a fencepost with his front wheel. The Italian champion flew over his bars and took down Walseben, Francis Mourey (FDJ and Klaas Vantournout (Sunweb-Revor). Bart Aernouts (Rabo-Giant), Steve Chainel (FDJ) and Rob Peeters (TElenet-Fidea) managed to get around the pile of bodies; as did Nys, who was following a few seconds behind.
Meanwhile, Pauwels and Albert continued to watch one another, but as the final corner approached they suddenly began to open up their sprints. The two riders took the last corner shoulder to shoulder but Pauwels had the inside line and, as Albert was forced to hesitate or risk hitting the barrier, the Telenet-Fidea rider carried on and crossed the line alone.
Nys, who had caught up with Walseben, Aernouts and Peeters, won the chase group’s sprint for the final corner and continued to take third place.
Tim Johnson (Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com) took the USA’s season best finish in the World Cup with 12th place, just 58 seconds behind Pauwels, while Great Britain’s Ian Field (Hargroves Cycles) took a personal best 15th at 1’22”.
Although it was an entirely Belgian podium, it was not all good news for the nation that dominates the sport. Both Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) and Sven Vanthourenhout (Subweb-Revor) both abandoned the race with injuries; both riders are now doubtful for the World Championships in less than two weeks time.
With his second place, Albert increases his lead in the overall World Cup standings. With 80 points available for victory though, he can mathematically be caught by both Pauwels and Nys, who sit 61 and 71 points behind him respectively. Either rider would have to win the final race in Hoogerheide, Netherlands next week though, and hope that Albert has a very bad day.
Result World Cup Pontchâteau Elite Men
1. Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea
2. Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus @ 3s
3. Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet @ 40s
4. Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ @ 41s
5. Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabo-Giant Offroad Team @ 42s
6. Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea @ 47s
7. Philipp Walseben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus @ 50s
8. John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale @ 52s
9. Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93 @ 53s
10. Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus @ 55s
…
12. Tim Johnson (USA) Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com @ 58s
15. Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles @ 1’22”
19. Jeremy Powers (USA) Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com 1’40”
28. Jamey Driscoll (USA) Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com @ 2’14”
World Cup standings after 7 rounds
1. Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus 490pts
2. Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea 429
3. Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet 419
4. Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabo-Giant Offroad Team 348
5. Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ 327