Cyclo-cross shorts: Denuwelaere disqualified for Koppenbergcross interference

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Denuwelaere disqualified for Koppenbergcross interference

Jan Denuwelaere (Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team) was disqualified from the Bpost Bank Trofee Koppenbergcross on Saturday and fined for interfering in the final sprint between his teammate, race winner Wout Van Aert, and the Belgian champion Sven Nys.

Denuwelaere was being lapped by Van Aert and Nys before they entered the last few hundred metres of the race. He had not been pulled from the circuit earlier because he wasn’t far enough behind at the start of the last lap. Instead of pulling over to the side of the course to let the two-man sprint for the win happen, Denuwelaere interfered with the sprint by leading his Van Aert through the last corner and onto the final stretch of pavement.

"In the penultimate round Denuwelaere was not so far behind," Guy Dobbelaere, one of the race officials told Nieuwsblad.be. ”Therefore, we could not pull him out of the race … Once it became clear that he would be lapped, we made ​​every effort to pull him out of the race, however, he ignored us. We whistled at him, called, waved, but he kept racing.”

Race officials disqualified Denuwelaere and gave him a fine of 100 Swiss Franc for failure to follow officials’ instructions and another €100 for assisting a teammate who was not on the same lap.

Van Aert and Pauwels victorious in Belgium; double seconds for Nys

Belgian champion Sven Nys (Crelan-AA Drink Team) was close to winning the Bpost Bank Trofee Koppenbergcross on Saturday and the Superprestige in Zonhoven on Sunday but was forced to settle for double second places after losing both two-man sprints at each event.

His loss to Wout Van Aert at the Koppenbergcross might have been the most disappointing of the two because he was attempting to win it for a 10th time, and because Van Aert’s Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace teammate Jan Denuwelaere interfered with the pair in the final sprint. Van Aert went on to win the race ahead of Nys and Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team) was third. Denuwelaere was disqualified.

"I could not sprint like I wanted," Nys told Sporza.be. "Suddenly out pops a teammate of Van Aert in the final corner and I lost his wheel. I had to start again but it was hopeless."

"I think Jan was able to deduce from the behavior of the public that we were coming and that he had to move to the side. But he just kept us from going. That hurts … But hats off to Van Aert. I'd like to sprint against him in a fair way. It is a great pity that such a great race had to end like this."

Nys fought is way into a solo move the next day in Zonhoven and it looked as though he had the win secured, however, Pauwels clawed his way back into contention and caught Nys right before the finish line. Pauwels won the two-up sprint and left Nys with another second place. "I thought I had enough left for the last lap,” Nys said. "But ultimately Pauwels was too strong."

De Boer wins in Oudenaarde; Cant tops podium in Zonhoven

Sophie De Boer (Kalas-NNOF Cycling Team) won the Koppenbergcross GP Twenty20 Cycling on Saturday in Oudenaarde, Belgium. It was her second straight BPost Bank Trofee after winning in Ronse in October.

She took a convincing victory with 18 seconds to spare on runner-up Jolien Verschueren (Wielerteam Decock-Woningbouw Vandekerckhove) and 44 seconds ahead of Sanne Cant (Enertherm - BKCP) in third place.

"I surprised myself today," said De Boer in a report on AD.nl. "On the climb you could waste a lot of energy and it was important to concentrate on the descent, and not to fall. I am happy with this victory.”

Cant redeemed herself with a victory at the women’s race in Zonhoven, Belgium on Sunday. She won the race ahead of VZW Young Telenet Fidea Cycling Team teammates Nikki Harris and Ellen Van Loy.

Compton wins first-ever Pan Am Continental cyclo-cross title

Katie Compton (Trek Factory Racing) has a long list of goals to accomplish during the 2014-15 cyclo-cross season and she checked one of them off at at the first-ever Pan American Continental Cyclo-cross Championships held on Sunday in Covington, Kentucky.

Compton told Cyclingnews in October that winning the Pan American Continental Championships was an important target alongside winning another national title, the World Cup series and the World Championships.

Compton won the World Cup opener in Valkenburg and returned home to compete in some of the Cincy3 Cyclo-cross Festival events that began on October 31 at Harbin Park, moved on to the Kings CX After Dark on November 1 and ended with the Pan American Continental Championships on November 2.

She opted not to compete in the first race and finished sixth place in the second race after having a mechanical at the start. She went on to win the championship event ahead of Meredith Miller (Noosa) and Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team).

"It went much better today than the other days," Compton said. "Everything was functioning well, and since I didn't really race the last couple of days it definitely helped me compared to the other girls."

Maghalie Rochette (Luna Pro Team) won the under-23 women’s title, Curtis White (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld) won the under-23 men’s title and Gage Hecht (Alpha Bicycle Company Vista Sub) won the junior men’s title.

Powers back to winning on home soil

Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus) returned to racing in the US after a successful trip overseas where he placed ninth at the first World Cup in Valkenburg. The US cyclo-cross champion won the Kings CX After Dark held on Saturday in Ohio as part of the three-race Cincy3 Cyclo-cross Festival. It was also his ninth USA Cycling Professional Cyclo-cross (Pro CX) series win of the season.

New courses challenge the elite racers at Cycle-Smart International

Cycle-Smart race organizer Adam Myerson made significant changes to his traditionally fast elite circuits during the two-day event l held on November 1 and 2 in Northampton. Myerson told Cyclingnews that the new courses utilized more of the steep, wooded hillside that separates the upper tree-lined section from the lower athletic fields. "We also worked with the venue to double the size of the old volleyball court so that it was a full 40-meters long, and UCI legal for a man-made sand section," he said.

Stephen Hyde (JAM Fund/NCC) and Gabby Durrin (Neon Velo) rose to the challenges that the new course presented, and the wet weather conditions, and won their respective elite races. "On Day 1, the ‘pro line’ was simply an extended turn, further up what was a seemingly vertical wall," Myerson said. "The pros had to go another 10 feet up the wall and many of them were forced to run. That section was followed by a drop off and turn back into a very steep, unforced run, so that if you couldn’t do the first section, you either had to remount on the drop-off, or run the entire section. In the sand, we did the full length of the sand pit, made a turn on the grass, and then came back through the sand a second time."

Jerome Townsend (Joe’s Garage CX p/b BikeReg) and Cassandra Maximenko (Rare Vos Racing/Van Dessel/PowerBar) used their strong cyclo-cross skills on the difficult sections of the course and won the elite races during round two. "On Day 2, the pros went straight up the hillside for an unforced, steep run, rode along the cliff for about 20 feet, and then dropped in, going down the run up from Saturday. They then had to make a hard turn and ride the wall around the tree in reverse. Many riders could not ride it, and were forced to run, both down the drop off, and around the tree."

Pro CX standings after Cincy3 and Cycle-Smart International

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