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Paulissen, Dahle rule Houffalize World Cup
Roel Paulissen (Siemens Mobile Cannondale) took an extremely popular victory in front of a partisan Belgian crowd in Houffalize, with the bonus of taking the overall lead in the World Cup from fellow countryman Filip Meirhaeghe (Specialized), who could only manage fourth on the day.
In the women's race, it was all Gunn-Rita Dahle (Merida) once again, riding away from the field on the first lap. Alison Dunlap (Luna) took second, which gives a real boost to her Olympic hopes.
The traditional Houffalize course was trimmed considerably, from 12km to 8km. Both the men and the women did a shortened first lap with a long paved climb, followed by six laps for the men and four for the women. The circuit was extremely dry and fast, with numerous short, steep climbs and technical descents. Full suspension was the almost universal choice.
Dahle took off quickly, building a 15-second gap over world champion Sabine Spitz (Fusion) by the end of the first short lap. Spitz, who missed the first World Cup after suffering a fever, came into the race with high hopes, but it was not to be - she was out early in the next lap with a broken rear derailleur.
While Dahle cruised up front, a battle was raging between Annabella Stropparo, Dunlap, Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain Business Objects), Paola Pezzo (Gatorade-Specialized) and Marga Fullana (Orbea).
Dunlap and Stropparo dropped the others on the second lap, and rode together until two laps to go, when Dunlap attacked.
"Annabella accelerated to drop the others, and I could stay with her comfortably, then I put the throttle down with two to go. It's 130 (UCI) points, which helps a lot." Dunlap is trying to pile up the points in hopes of gaining the lone women’s mountain-biking berth on America’s Olympic team.
Stropparo held on for third, while Barbara Blatter (Specialized) moved up to take fourth, ahead of Fullana. Sydor faded with leg cramps on the last lap and was passed by a surging Marie Helene Premont (Oryx), Kiara Bisaro (GearsRacing.com), and Petra Heinz to end up ninth.
Dahle has a perfect 500 points in the overall standings after two races, followed by Stropparo (300), and Dunlap (285).
In the men’s race, Paulissen followed Dahle’s lead, attacking early to forge a15-second lead over Miguel Martinez (Commencal-Oxbow) and his teammate Christoph Sauser. Meirhaeghe was next at 30 seconds, but already struggling with the pace.
Ryder Hesjedal (Subaru-Gary Fisher) started well, slotting into fifth after the first lap, but faded through the race to finish 48th.
Another rider missing from the front was Roland Green (Trek-VW). He dropped out on the first lap with a mechanical last week in Madrid, and thus started well back, in 71st place. He spent the entire race working his way forward, to finish 29th.
Sauser moved up to join Paulissen, and the pair did a two-up time trial for the rest of the race. Meirhaeghe and Martinez chased together all race, until the final lap, when Meirhaeghe dropped back and was passed by Julien Absalon (Bianchi Agos).
The race finished as expected, with Paulissen taking the strategic win to overtake Meirhaeghe in the World Cup standings.
"My plan was to go early and push hard; make the others chase. Christoph and I didn't talk about it (the win), but we didn't ride against each other. It is the most beautiful victory in a classic mountain bike race."
