Compton and Nys add another World Cup win to palmares

US-champion Katherine Compton (Rabobank – Giant Off-road Team) and Belgian living legend Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet-KDL) stormed to the wins in the first round of the 2011-2012 Patrick UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Plzen, Czech Republic. It’s the sixth consecutive win in the World Cup for Compton. It’s the 44th World Cup win for Nys but he was forced to wait two years since his last win. Home riders Zdenek Stybar (Quickstep Cycling Team) and Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Racing) were in the mix for the win but both had to settle for third place.
Chaotic start, tactical final
In the Elite Men’s category the start procedure was disturbed by a cameraman who was still standing in front of Belgian champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) and French champion Francis Mourey (FDJ) while the start shot was fired. Added to this sad situation was a crash in the middle of the bunch in the first corner. Since the race jury opted not to restart the race the duo and those behind them were forced to fight back from behind.
In front Nys and Frenchman Steve Chainel (FDJ) were leading the debates together with Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea), Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor), Bart Aernouts (Rabobank – Giant Off-road Team), Tom Meeusen and Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) and world champion Zdenek Stybar (Quickstep Cycling Team). An acceleration from Pauwels in the fifth lap was swiftly marked by Stybar. The duo gathered a handful of seconds on the first chase group but only Nys was able to bridge back up to the leaders. In the background Albert and Mourey gained contact with the first chasers in the eighth lap but by that time the trio in front had an advantage of nearly half a minute. A mechanical threw back Wellens while Chainel was dropped by the tempo from Albert.
In the final lap the three leaders battled to get a good spot at the 23-steps long stairway just before the final corners. It was Stybar who reached the stairway first ahead of Nys and Pauwels but the Czech then got surprised by Nys in the following corner. The astute Belgian sneaked through a narrow gap between a tree and Stybar but it was enough to start the sprint ideally and grab the win in Plzen. Pauwels sprinted past a disappointed Stybar who was forced to settle for third in front of his home crowd. Mourey won the battle for fourth place ahead of Vantornout, Meeusen, Aernouts and Albert. Chainel and Jeremy Powers (Team Rapha-Focus) closed down the top-10.
Compton holds off Van Paassen and Nash
In-form British champion Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Racing) led the pack during the first lap of the Women’s race over the slightly wet but fast course in Plzen. That pack quickly turned into a leader’s group of five with Compton, Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team), Sanne van Paassen (Brainwash Wielerploeg) and Daphny van den Brand (AA Drink – Leontien.nl Cycling Team). Compton accelerated during the second lap and the efforts from the American put Wyman in trouble. No more damage was caused in front during the third lap. Then Compton tried a second time and this time her rivals cracked. The US-champion kept extending her lead and it was clear that despite bad luck nobody would get back to her. Home rider Nash stormed forward in the battle for second place. Van Paassen lost little ground while her compatriot settled for fourth place. Nash kept gaining ground on Van Paassen but her run ended when she crashed at the end of the penultimate lap. Van Paassen was able to pass Nash who didn’t get back in the rhythm right away. Defending World Cup winner Van Paassen grabbed second place behind a impressive Compton. Nash settled for third place ahead of Van den Brand and Wyman.
The next round of the 2011-2012 Patrick UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup is held next week, also in the Czech Republic, this time in Tabor. It will be the first round of the World Cup for the youth categories Junior Men and Men Under 23.

You May Also Like

More From Author

+ There are no comments

Add yours