Lars van der Haar dominated the first World Cup cross, like last year. After a very quick start he was accompanied by Meeusen and Pauwels. After a few laps Meeusen was dropped and Pauwels crashed, so LvdH continued alone. He cruised towards victory afterwards. The battle for 2nd place was more interesting between 3 Belgian, 2 Dutch and a German rider. In the end Pauwels profited from a mistake by Meeusen, while Van Kessel grabbed a surprising third spot. Sven Nys was nowhere today and gave up. Apparently he hasn't recovered yet from illness.
The U23 race was set to be the first duel between Van Aert and Van der Poel. But it was Vanthourenhout who won quite dominantly. Van Aert finished 2nd, while Van der Poel lost a lot of ground due to a crash and finished in a dissapointing 6th place.
Women's race was won by Compton, despite a very bad start.
Yesterday was the famous Koppenbergcross. Usually a race that is dominated by Sven Nys. Yesterday though Van Aert beat him and showed us the future of cyclocross.
Dutch Sophie de Boer won the women's race in front of the surprising Verschueren, while Michael Vanthourenhout once again dominated the u23 race.
I hope Venturini will stay in cross. France needs a successor to Mourey.
At the European Championships the Belgian national team grabs 3 out of 4 possible titles with Van Aert (Men U23), Iserbyt (Junior Men) and Sanne Cant (Women Elite). In the Men's categories Belgium grabbed all gold and silver medals. Surprisingly good results by the Czech riders Havlikoba (Women Elite) and Skala (U23).
Women Elite
Women U23
Men U23
Junior Men
Dieter Vanthourenhout denies Walsleben a home win in this German cross. Edited by Wilier on 08-11-2014 16:08
Tom Meeusen was the fastest in the final sprint in Ruddervoorde. Mathieu keeps the lead in the GC, with Nys and van der Haar very close.
Superprestige GC:
Spoiler
1
Mathieu van der Poel
40
2
Sven Nys
39
3
Lars van der Haar
38
4
Klaas Vantornout
34
5
Kevin Pauwels
34
6
Tom Meeusen
33
7
Corne van Kessel
24
8
Jens Adams
20
9
Bart Aernouts
18
10
Philipp Walsleben
13
European and Belgian champ Cant wins the women's race, while Laurens Sweeck wins the u23 race. Another European champion from yesterday, Eli Iserbyt wins the Junior race.
Spoiler
Meanwhile on a different continent. UnitedHealthcare rider Daniel Summerhill beats the USA champ Powers by 2 seconds. 19-year old prospect Logan Owen grabs third place.
Yesterday Nys dominated the Jaarmarktcross in Niel. 2nd was supertalent Van Aert. Though some big names weren't present like Mathieu van der Poel and Lars van der Haar. Edited by Wilier on 12-11-2014 08:42
Fun fact: the 7 classification crosses so far have been won by 7 differant riders. Nys, Pauwels, Meeusen, Vantornout, Van Aert, Van der Poel and Van der Haar.
Will watch today my first CX race this season, somehow always missed them becauseof schedule and being busy and stuff. Especially looking forward to seeing Van Aert in action, looks like he's on a real streak lately. What an amazing talent.
Edited by Shonak on 23-11-2014 10:00
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Yesterday was the famous Koksijde cross. A cross in the coastal dunes with lots of sand. Van Aert won in a dominant fashion, while Mathieu van der Poel grabs 3rd place after being ill in the past week. Two U23 riders on the podium. Reminds me of the time when Stybar, Boom and Albert were still U23s. How awesome would it be if those 3 were still active in cyclocross. Nys had a very bad day and finished 15th. Mourey was even worse today. Van der Haar didn't participate due to illness.
Van der Haar's absence means Pauwels grab the World Cup lead. Nys and Mourey barely scored any points in the first two races and aren't even in the top 10. Jens Adams and Bart Wellens are the surprising names in this top 10.
1
Kevin Pauwels
140
2
Tom Meeusen
115
3
Klaas Vantornout
115
4
Corne van Kessel
113
5
Jens Adams
96
6
Philipp Walsleben
94
7
Bart Wellens
81
8
Wout Van Aert
80
9
Lars van der Haar
80
10
Thijs van Amerongen
80
Sanne Cant won the women's race, while Sophie de Boer grabs the lead in the women's World Cup ranking, after a bad performance from Katie Compton today (10th).
How much gradient is in that Spa slope? They really have to fight their way up there.
Seeing Van der Poel mixing it up with the Elites is just great. Quite a bit of a Fanboy. Seems like he likes to follow Nys as race strategy in general or is this just a coincidence?
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
I think he learned from yesterdays race, don't give it all in the start, stay cool until it really matters But I don't think he'll win today, he doesn't look good, and he is really struggling with the climbing part (not ON the bike).
Pauwels on the other hand looks very strong, and I could see van der Haar clearly was suffering when Pauwels turned up the speed.
Edited by anderspcm on 23-11-2014 14:48
But I don't think he'll win today, he doesn't look good, and he is really struggling with the climbing part (not ON the bike).
