Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) overcame an early lead from World champion Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) to win the final round of the World Cup in Hoogerheide, Netherlands. The Belgian champion, who clearly enjoys the course having won his 2009 World Championship here as the World Cup race last year, finished 8 seconds ahead of Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea) in second place and 32 seconds ahead of Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) in third.
German rider Christoph Pfingsten (De Vliet) hit the first corner first but it was Stybar, fresh from his extended training camp in Mallorca, who made the early move. The Czech rider escaped the rest of the field to take a huge early lead and by the end of the first lap he had a lead of 17 seconds over the chasing pack, led by US rider Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale).
Behind Stybar, Klaas Vantournout (Sunweb-Revor) escaped the other chasers, still led by Johnson, and as the World champion crossed the line his lead had risen just one second. Pauwels was the next to escape and he managed to bridge across to Vantournout; the group behind was beginning to break up by now under pressure from Albert.
At the end of the third lap Sybar’s lead over Pauwels and Vantournout had dropped to 15 seconds, with Albert leading the chasers at 25 seconds.
On lap four Pauwels continued his pursuit of Stybar; the winner of the previous round in Pontchâteau dropped Vantournout; the Sunweb-Revor rider was in turn caught and passed by Albert as the Belgian champion and World Cup leader had started his charge.
By the end of the lap Stybar appeared to be tiring, perhaps a little jaded after missing so much recent racing, led Pauwels by just 13 seconds, with Albert just 4 seconds back. The Belgian pair got together on the next lap and trailed the World champion by just 8 seconds at the end of the next lap.
On the muddy, wooded section on lap five Stybar had a few problems with traction and was caught by Albert and Pauwels. A slightly botched bike change for the Czech, as the three riders went through the pits at the same time, saw Albert steal a lead; Pauwels followed Albert, leaving Stybar a little way behind.
As Albert crossed the line with 2 laps to go, he now led Pauwels by a slim 3 seconds, with Stybar now having dropped to 11 seconds behind. Rather than the race lead, the World champion now had to worry about staying on the podium. He now had Nys breathing down his neck, just 6 seconds behind him.
At the bell Albert had only managed to pull his lead out to 7 seconds over Pauwels, but Stybar had now faded considerably and had been caught by Nys; the pair of them crossed the line 31 seconds back.
Albert rode a faultless final lap on the course that he clearly enjoys, with Pauwels matching him for pace all the way around. The Belgian champion took his third World Cup race of the season, after Koksijde, Belgium and Igorre, Spain, 8 seconds ahead of the Telenet-Fidea rider.
Having spent the previous two laps reeling in Stybar, Nys was quick to drop the World champion on the final lap; he finished 5 seconds ahead of the World champion in his final race in the rainbow jersey before having to defend it in St-Wendel, Germany next weekend. Nys finished 32 seconds behind Albert to make an ominiously all-Belgian podium.
It would have taken a victory from either Pauwels or Nys and a total disaster for Albert for the Belgian champion to not win the overall World Cup, but his own victory makes Albert’s win in the season-long competition even more emphatic.
The top three riders in the race took the top three positions in the World Cup, and currently hold the top three riders in the World rankings. Unless Stybar can improve his stamina over the full race distance by next weekend the rainbow jersey looks odds-on to return to Belgium.
Result Hoogerheide World Cup Elite Men
1. Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus
2. Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea @ 8s
3. Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet @ 32s
4. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea @ 37s
5. Klaas Vantournout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor @ 38s
6. Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea @ 43s
7. Philipp Walseben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus @ 1’00”
8. Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ @ 1’11”
9. Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabo-Giant Offroad Team @ 1’35”
10. Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ @ 2’00”
Final World Cup Standings
1. Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus 570pts
2. Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea 499
3. Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet 484
4. Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabo Giant Offroad Team 392
5. Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ 369