Sven Nys remains atop the men's UCI cyclo-cross rankings for the fifth consecutive points update, a...
Hanka Kupfernagel still leads the rankings (Image credit: Cyclingnews.com)
Sven Nys remains atop the men's UCI cyclo-cross rankings for the fifth consecutive points update, a position he's maintained since December 2, 2008. The only cyclo-cross racing which took place since the previous week's points ranking was the weekend of European national championships and the minor changes in position can be attributed to a rider's success in pursuing a national title.
Sven Nys prevailed for the sixth time in the Belgian national championships which further extended his lead over compatriots Bart Wellens and Kevin Pauwels, who rank second and third respectively. Wellens' and Pauwels' teammate on Fidea Cycling, Zdenek Stybar, won the Czech national championship and remained in fourth place overall.
Recently crowned Dutch 'cross champion Lars Boom moved into fifth place ahead of Belgian Niels Albert, who dropped one place to sixth since the previous ranking. Thijs Al moved into seventh ahead of Klaas Vantornout based on the points disparity of their respective second place and DNF finishes in the Dutch and Belgian 'cross championships.
Radomír Simunek Jr. returns to the top-ten buoyed by his second place finish in the Czech national championships, while Erwin Vervecken dropped out of the the top-ten due to a DNF in the Belgian title race.
On the women's side, the recently crowned German national champion Hanka Kupfernagel remains in first and maintained her 475 point lead over Daphny van den Brand, the winner of the Netherlands' national championship. The top five in the women's ranking remain unchanged since the previous points tally. Helen Wyman, who recently won Great Britain's national 'cross title, narrowly moved into sixth place ahead of Christel Ferrier-Bruneau whose second place finish in the French national championship did not provide enough points to defend her previous sixth place ranking.
Wendy Simms did not earn any points since the previous poll since her Canadian national championship was earned much earlier in the season and falls to tenth behind a pair of Dutchwomen, Sanne van Paassen and Saskia Elemans, who finished fourth and third respectively in the Netherlands' national championship.
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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.
