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FEATURES: CYCLOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Road Bike Action
January 29, 2012
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In the sandy stretches of North Sea outside of Koksijde, Belgium, the home team and visiting riders from the Netherlands laid waste to the rest of the world.
ELITE MEN
Belgium's Neils Albert had the end of the race to himself to claim his second world title. The top American was Ryan Trebon in 18th place.
RESULTS: Elite Men
1. Niels Albert (Belgium) 1:06:07
2. Rob Peeters (Belgium) 0:00:24
3. Kevin Pauwels (Belgium) 0:00:30
ELITE WOMEN
There was plenty of shoulder to shoulder action throughout the day. The top American was Katie Compton in 5th.
RESULTS: Elite Women
1. Marianne Vos (Netherlands) 0:41:04
2. Daphny Van Den Brand (Netherlands) 0:00:37
3. Sanne Cant (Belgium) 0:00:38
FROM THE EX-CHAMP'S CORNER...
It was a really tough day for Zdenek Stybar. The champion from the Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team couldn’t get farther than 13th place in the World Championship race today in Koksijde. Vanished is the dream of a triple consecutive win after championship successes in 2010 and 2011.
“I had a really bad day,” said Stybar after the arrival. “Already in the warm up phase on the rollers I didn’t feel very well. Maybe also because of the slight fever that hit me yesterday evening. I tried not to dwell on it and stay focused on the competition. At the start of the race when Albert took off I knew he was going to be a tough customer; he loves these types of routes. I tried to keep up with him but my legs weren’t responding as they usually do."
"Lap after lap I was losing positions" continues Stybar. "The thing I liked best about today was the affection from the crowds. The further back I fell in the classification, the more the public supported me. I’d like to thank them all; it was a magical moment, unforgettable. Will I still do cyclocross in the future? We’ll see, right now I don’t know how to answer that. We’ll talk it over with the team at the appropriate time. Now I want to recuperate and think about the season ahead on the road. I still have lots of races ahead of me in which to do well and recover from this first part, which has been a bit lackluster. Honors go to Albert and the entire Belgian team. They were motivated, racing on their home turf and they deserved the victory.”
U-23 MEN
The start was a mad dash.
RESULTS: U-23 Men
1. Lars Van Der Haar (Netherlands) 0:49:20
2. Wietse Bosmans (Belgium) 0:00:01
3. Michiel Van Der Heijden (Netherlands) 0:00:04
JUNIOR MEN
There are now two World Cyclocross Champions in the Van der Poel family as young Mathieu followed in his famous father Adri's footsteps.
RESULTS: Junior Men
1 Mathieu Van Der Poel (Netherlands) 0:43:36
2 Wout Van Aert (Belgium) 0:00:08
3 Quentin Jauregui (France) 0:00:21
Photos: Bettini |
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