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Wachtebeke - C2
Wachtebeke, Belgium, December 23, 2006
Wachtebeke podium colours orange
“I could dig very deep and that pleases me a lot”
By Brecht Decaluwé
It comes as no surprise that Sven Nys (Rabobank) has won the first race in a string of many holiday races. The podium in Wachtebeke turned orange as his Rabobank teammates Richard Groenendaal and Sven Vanthourenhout completed the top three. Nys overcame a flat before going on to win the race.
“I was the best of the three men in front,” said Nys. “When I punctured I didn’t panic and closed the gap quickly. I was able to dig very deep and that pleases me a lot as I felt I had enough power in my legs. Maybe I wasn’t that good during the first half of the race, but gradually I got better.”
The English speaking riders were well represented at the start and some performed quite well. Veteran Roger Hammond (Discovery Channel) managed a seventh place while American Jonathan Page (Morgan Blue – BSI) showed his new team jersey to the Belgian crowds in ninth. Great Britain's Ian Bibby was the last to be overtaken by Nys. Newly crowned US national champion Ryan Trebon (Kona) didn’t start due to illness.
How it unfolded
Last year’s winner Sven Vanthourenhout was the first to lead the bunch in Wachtebeke; David Willemsens, Jan Verstraeten, Nys and Groenendaal all showed up at the front as well. Apparently the speed wasn’t high enough as the Rabobank riders managed to ride away. Nys punctured and got distanced at ten seconds. The UCI-leader returned to the front within two laps which is quick considering Vanthourenhout and Groenendaal didn’t wait for Nys.
When the Belgian champion returned he didn’t hesitate to attack his teammates. His compatriot Vanthourenhout quickly understood Nys was unstoppable but Groenedaal didn’t give in. The Dutchman eventually got behind when Nys attacked in a muddy section. Nys captured his eighteenth victory of the season while Groenendaal completed a successful comeback (after some weeks without competition) with his second place; Vanthourenhout completed the Rabobank triple.
Results
Elite men
1 Sven Nys (Bel) Rabobank 1.00.45 2 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) Rabobank 0.04 3 Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Rabobank 0.59 4 Maxime Lefebvre (Fra) Josan 1.23 5 David Willemsens (Bel) Vos Sportief 1.29 6 Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Wielergroep Beveren 2000 7 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel 2.34 8 Cyrille Bonnand (Fra) Les Bleus de France 2.38 9 Jonathan Page (USA) Morgan Blue - BSI 3.10 10 Jan Verstraeten (Bel) SD Worx 3.28 11 Rob Peeters (Bel) Balen BC 3.49 12 Marco Bianco (Ita) l'Arcobaleno Carraro Team 3.58 13 Bjorn Rondelez (Bel) Lingier-Versluys 4.06 14 Jan Van Dael (Bel) 15 Kenneth Van Compernolle (Bel) 4.25 16 Maxim Debusschere (Bel) Beveren 2000 4.34 17 Tom Vannoppen (Bel) Palmans Collstrop 4.37 18 Geert Van Crombruggen (Bel) Royal Cureghem Sportif 4.44 19 Dries Dewit (Bel) Scott USA Cycling Team 4.55 20 Joachim Parbo (Den) Cycling Aarhus 5.05 21 Nico Clarysse (Bel) 5.11 22 Gianni Denolf (Bel) Brugse Velosport 5.24 23 Mike Thielemans (Bel) Cyling Team Thielemans-Reynaers 5.31
24 Ian Bibby (GBr)
One lap down
25 Molly Cameron (USA) 26 Jorn Van Der Veken (Bel) Profel-Ziegler Continental Team 27 Barry Wicks (USA) Kona 28 Steven Decaluwe (Bel) 29 Björn Selander (USA) 30 Morgan Schmitt (USA) 31 Daniel Neyens (Bel) 32 Nicholas Weighall (USA) 33 Jamey Driscoll (USA) Fiordifrutta 34 Tony Heirbaut (Bel) Juniors 1 Kevin Eeckhout (Bel) 42.00 2 Sven Verboven (Bel) 0.12 3 Bart Hermans (Bel) 0.17 4 Tim Debusschere (Bel) 0.30 5 Jonathan McEvoy (GBr) 1.10 6 Dries Ingels (Bel) 1.38 7 Kenneth Bultynck (Bel) 1.52 8 Michiel Dieleman (Bel) 2.07 9 Hans Antonissen (Bel) 2.16 10 Vincent Renaux (Fra) 2.27 11 Simon Geets (Bel) 2.32 12 Jochen Torfs (Bel) 2.45 13 Nick De Proost (Bel) 3.22 14 Kenneth Mariën (Bel) 15 Kristof Scheirs (Bel) 4.05 16 Kenny Maes (Bel) 4.20 17 Steve Fisher (USA) 4.28 18 Rudy Kowalski (Fra) 4.33 19 Jerome Townsend (USA) 4.55 20 Vincent Van Hooste (Bel) 6.06 21 Jarno Van de Casteele (Bel) 6.42 22 Lorenzo Messine (Bel) 23 Jeremy Heyndrickx (Bel) 24 Dimi Diels (Bel) 25 Sam Van Hemelen (Bel) 26 Stijn Van Geyte (Bel) 27 Jeffrey Dhaeze (Bel) 28 Bart Temmerman (Bel) 29 Sean Durinck (Bel) 30 Joachim Janssens (Bel) 31 Sam Van Uytvange (Bel) Novice 1 Niels Wytinck (Bel) 29.42 2 Zico Waeytens (Bel) 3 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) 0.32 4 Matthias Bossuyt (Bel) 0.38 5 Ruben Scheire (Bel) 6 Thomas Verbeek (Bel) 1.20 7 Jens Costers (Bel) 1.30 8 Valentijn Van de Velde (Bel) 1.35 9 Raf Risbourg (Bel) 10 Bart De Bondt (Bel) 11 Bart De Vocht (Bel) 1.55 12 Lennerd Van den Bleeken (Bel) 2.10 13 Nils Heyns (Bel) 2.15 14 Jens Joosen (Bel) 15 Rinze De Proost (Bel) 2.40 16 Frederik Geerts (Bel) 17 Thomas Van Overbeke (Bel) 18 Jelle Dejonghe (Bel) 19 Chritophe Ysenbaardt (Bel) 20 Jens Van den Bosch (Bel) 21 Matthias Botterman (Bel) 22 Kenny Goossens (Bel) 23 Joeri Hofman (Bel) 24 Jan Van Meirvenne (Bel) 25 Sam Van de Mieroop (Bel) 26 Kevin Callebaut (Bel) 27 Koen Vandeput (Bel) 28 Berten De Meyer (Bel) 29 Jens Saey (Bel) 30 Dominic Schils (Bel) 31 Jeffrey Mellemans (Bel) 32 Joris Tips (Bel)
One lap down
33 Tom Pijsson (Bel) 34 Jens Vanderveken (Bel) 35 Niels Van Gyseghem (Bel) 36 Robin Delanghe (Bel) 37 Rutger La Haye (Bel) 38 Robin De Cnodder (Bel)
