Nys uses his mental strength to extend running streak

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Belgian national champion Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) added a fourth victory to his November winning streak at the third round of the Superprestige series in Zogge on Sunday. Nys used his mental strength to win in the tough conditions even though the mud and frequent running didn’t suit his riding style.

In the past the 34-year-old Belgian would've thrown in the towel before the start of the race if the course would have been designed more for a cross-country run than for a cyclo-cross. Not this time.

Nys was able to keep up with excellent runner Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor), who had already attacked during the first lap of the race.

“Normally my running is bad but if I'm in top form then it moves up to just being a weak point,” Nys said before adding that tactics were all important as well.

The Belgian champion said he knew Vantornout was highly motivated, hinting that his rival had saved his best form the last few weeks in order to be good during the race organized by his team manager.

“Klaas was running really fast during the last lap but I had something left to answer his attack. I don’t want to judge Klaas' tactics but I think I raced better. I started conservatively but I quickly realised that I should distance the others when running and then recover while they were coming back right to me. That way I was able to save something for the last lap. We were going so hard that every early effort cost you victory.”