THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Vervecken claims men's 'cross crown as Nys crashes
Belgian pride was salvaged at the cyclo-cross world championships on Sunday when Erwin Vervecken led home countryman Bart Wellens to claim the elite men's title. Defending champion and pre-race favorite Sven Nys (Bel) did not finish, crashing on the final lap while in the lead group. American Jonathan Page put in a strong performance, moving up through the field to finish 10th.
The Belgians were expected to dominate the men's 60-minute, nine-lap race, but the first half of the race was wide open, with riders from France, Holland and the Czech Republic all coming to the front. The Belgians gradually took control of the race, but it wasn't Nys in charge; Wellens was the rider setting the pace.
"I think Wellens was the best man today, he showed from the start that he was the strongest. Wellens had the intention of attacking at the beginning, so I could wait, which was ideal for me." said Vervecken. "It was fortunate that I was also strong at the end!
"Nys is certainly not as good as at the beginning of the season, and Wellens spent much more time at the front. Plus, normally he (Nys) is much better in descents than me, but that was not the situation today. We learned soon into the race that Nys was not having a good day, so we had to adapt. I have been riding well in the past two weeks, so I felt more confident."
The front group was whittled down until by the start of lap seven there were 10 riders in contention, with Page just behind them and moving up. A lap later and the final selection was made - Nys, Wellens, Vervecken and Francis Moury of France.
As the four began the final lap it looked like the deck was stacked for the Belgians, but then came word that Nys had crashed heavily in the descent while leading.
"When it happened, it was on the descent, and he was in first place," explained Vervecken. "If he was feeling good and hoped to win he would have been second or third. I think that the pressure was very great and maybe he was nervous and that is why he crashed."
Nys didn't get back on his bike immediately, instead waiting for medical attention, so it was down to three. Each would get a medal, but how would it play out?
Vervecken left nothing to chance. "I thought I could win as we went into the last lap," he said. "in the last half lap I could see the faces of the others, and that made me more confident. I took 10 meters, but it was only in the last 300 meters that I knew I had won."
Wellens sat on Moury's wheel until the last 150 meters before sprinting by to make it 1-2 for Belgium.
"I was the strongest," said Wellens, "and certainly it was my best race of the season. But when Erwin attacked on the stairs I had to let him go. It was best for the team."
Elite men (top 50)
1. Erwin Vervecken (Belgium)
2. Bart Wellens (Belgium )
3. Francis Mourey (France)
4. Steve Chainel (France)
5. Tom Vannoppen (Belgium )
6. Kamil Ausbuher (Czech Republic)
7. Enrico Franzoi (Italy)
8. Gerben De Knegt (Netherlands)
9. Vladimir Kyzivat (Czech Republic)
10. Jonathan Page (USA)
11. Radomir Simunek (Czech Republic)
12. Klaas Vantornout (Belgium )
13. Christian Heule (Switzerland )
14. Milan Barenyi (Slovakia)
15. Malte Urban (Germany)
16. Marek Cichosz (Poland)
17. Sven Vanthourenhout (Belgium )
18. Bart Aernouts (Belgium )
19. Petr Dlask (Czech Republic)
20. Thijs Al (Netherlands)
21. Richard Groenendaal (Netherlands)
22. Maarten Nijland (Netherlands)
23. Arnaud Labbe (France)
24. Michael Baumgartner (Switzerland )
25. Camiel Van Den Bergh (Netherlands)
26. Unai Yus (Spain)
27. Robert Glajza (Slovakia)
28. Gusty Bausch (Luxemburg )
29. Zdenek Mlynar (Czech Republic)
30. Roberto Petito (Italy)
31. Dariusz Gil (Poland)
32. Vaclaf Metlicka (Slovakia)
33. Barry Wicks (USA)
34. Isaac Suarez Fernandez (Spain)
35. René Birkenfeld (Germany)
36. Jeremy Powers (USA)
37. Alessandro Fontana (Italy)
38. Simon Zahner (Switzerland )
39. Johannes Sickmueller (Germany)
40. Wilant Van Gils (Netherlands)
41. Oscar Vazquez (Spain)
42. Daniele Fratini (Italy)
43. Mariusz Gil (Poland)
44. Keiiti Tsujiura (Japan )
45. Jody Crawforth (Great Britain)
46. Masanori Kosaka (Japan )
47. Greg Reain (Canada )
48. Erik Tonkin (USA)
49. Jonathan Baker (USA)
50. Marco Bianco (Italy)
