Denuwelaere to make 'cross World Cup debut in Rome

After being passed over all season for the Belgian team for the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, Jan Denuwelaere will finally be allowed to race in the round in Rome on Sunday, January 6.

Belgian national team coach Rudy De Bie made the selection known today, and thanks to the country's extra slot Denuwelaere was the 10th rider on the squad thanks to his win in the bpost Bank Trofee in Essen on December 22.

Also in the team are world champion Niels Albert, World Cup leader Sven Nys, who is currently recovering from a bout of bronchitis that kept him out of his eponymous GP Sven Nys on January 1, Kevin Pauwels, Klaas Vantornout, Rob Peeters, Bart Wellens, Tom Meeusen, Bart Aernouts and Dieter Vanthourenhout.

The World Cup round in Rome is the seventh of eight rounds in the 2012-2013 season. Nys is tied on points with Albert in the overall standings, while Pauwels and Vantornout occupy the third and fourth places. Dutch rider Lars van der Haar breaks up the Belgian domination in the fifth spot ahead of Wellens and Meeusen.

The final race will take place in Hoogerheide, Belgium on January 20.

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