Nys has finished second behind Boonen in the competition for the "cristal bike" award in Belgium. Boonen received twice as many points as the cyclo-cross superstar. Nys was dissapointed, but expected that he wouldn't win it. Despite his sheer domination in cyclo-cross, where he has won the majority of the races he's entered (except for the world championship) he was unable to get near Boonen. Nys told cyclocross.info, "Maybe it's because I couldn't extend my world title, but the same counts for Boonen. Nevertheless, Boonen showed great things last year."
Current world champion Erwin Vervecken chalked Nys' defeat to the higher popularity of road cycling, saying, "Many (former) road riders still underestimate the level of cyclo-cross. And if people from the cyclo-cross world don't vote for a cyclo-cross rider then you can never win."
Meanwhile, Nys still continues to lead the UCI rankings for 'cross, ahead of Bart Wellens (Fidea) by nearly 800 points. Wellens made great strides in the past month, soaring from fourth to second place by finishing second to Nys in Igorre and Koksijde. Vervecken's illness kept him out of round six, and misfortunes in Igorre kept him out of the top ten, dropping him from second to third in the UCI rankings.
Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
