Dutch cyclist Marianne Vos won a record fourth cyclo-cross world title today in St. Wendel, Germany. Her win ties the four wins by German Hanka Kupfernagel. Kupfernagel had to settle for fourth today, behind USA's Katie Compton and Czech Republic's Katerina Nash.
"I crashed a couple of times in the beginning," said Vos, "so I was happy to just stay on my bike in the final two laps."
Deeply frozen tyre track in the course made handling difficult for the competitors in the 12th edition of the women's worlds.
Kupfernagel pleased the home crowd to make the escape with the eventual winning trio. However, she eventually was unable to follow and lost a chance to medal at home. She won the World Championships the last time it was held in Germany, in 2005.
Compton helped ensure the trio's success. She and Nash, however, were unable to respond when Vos made her move for a fourth, and third consecutive, title with a strong attack on the last lap. The 23-year-old added to her wins in 2006, 2009 and 2010, and her success in other disciplines. She won an Olympic Gold in the points race in 2008 and the road world title in 2006.
Compton stayed with Nash until the running section, where she gained enough advantage for a silver medal. Kupfernagel held on to fourth place Swiss Jasmin Achermann and Vos' team-mate, Sanne van Paassen.
"I was in pretty fast company all day," explained Nash. "It is my first World Championships medal, so I am very happy."
Nash punched the air in celebration as she crossed the line.
The USA has yet to win a cyclo-cross medal at the elite level. Compton was a heavy favourite prior to the race, she had won five world cup races this year and finished second in two others. She already won a silver medal in 2007 and in 2009, won a bronze medal.
Cyclo-cross strong nation, Belgium failed to medal and added to yesterday's poor results in the Under 23 and Junior men's races. The best finisher today was Sanne Cant in ninth, two minutes behind Vos.
"Unfortunately, my target was a top five and I did not be meet that," Cant told Sporza. "I was going well, but blocked in the first lap on the climb."
Results:
1 Marianne Vos (Netherlands) 0:40:31
2 Katherine Compton (USA) 17"
3 Katerina Nash (Czech Republic) 20"
4 Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany) 42"
5 Jasmin Achermann (Switzerland) 1'10
6 Sanne Van Paassen (Netherlands) 1'20
7 Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (France) 1'42
8 Pauline Ferrand Prevot (France)
9 Sanne Cant (Belgium) 02'00
10 Sabine Spitz (Germany)