Nys tops UCI rankings

Sven Nys continues to stay atop the UCI cyclo-cross rankings after scoring another world cup win on Sunday in Pijnacker and a third place in Niel. The dominant Belgian had some bad luck in Niel, with a late-race mechanical that forced him to run the last 500m, pushing him from first position to third in that race. Bart Wellens, the benefactor of Nys' misfortune, won the race, but his luck turned the following day. A crash early in the race nearly knocked him unconscious, and certainly out of contention, but the scrappy Wellens got back on his bike in order to pick up enough points to maintain his place in the UCI standings. Unfortunately, his effort was not enough, and he dropped from third overall to fourth this week.

Francis Mourey gained 269 points to climb into third place. Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank also moved up a notch from sixth to fifth, overtaking Sven Vanthourenhout. The big mover this week was Richard Groenendaal, who moved from 19th to 11th on merit of his fourth place in Pijnacker and second place in Niel.

UCI standings as of November 13, 2006