Meeusen sprints to victory

Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) grabbed the biggest win of his career in a tumultuous fifth round of the Superprestige Series in Gieten, The Netherlands. The 23-year-old Belgian sprinted to victory from a four-man leader's group after a fast race on frozen subsoil.

Superprestige leader Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) was on Meeusen's wheel at the start of the paved finishing straight, but the Belgian champion snapped off his left pedal and was forced to run across the finish line. BKCP-Powerplus teammates Radomir Simunek and Dieter Vanthourenhout, also part of the four man lead group, both passed Nys to finish second and third while Nys had to settle for fourth.

"I'm super happy because this is my first big win," Meeusen said. "It's sad to see what happened with Sven because I'd rather beat him on his true value. Then again, 'cross is 'cross and today I won. Riding on a frozen subsoil was to my advantage because the best riders can't transfer their power on the bike like they usually do."

For runner-up Radomir Simunek Jr. (BKCP-Powerplus) it's the first major podium result of the season in a race dedicated to his father who passed away last summer. On the podium he received the flowers from his mother. "I'm very satisfied. Today I fought for my dad. I rode at 110 percent," Simunek said.

Meeusen's delight was in high contrast with Nys' frustration about his broken pedal. "I'm lucky not to crash hard," Nys said. His fourth place finish wasn't a bad result after all since his rivals for the Superprestige Series had an off-day. "I'm doing a good job in the series but I'm a winner and I'd rather had two points more; I'm annoyed that I didn't win."

Only Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea) was able to score a sizeable amount of points, finishing fifth at 45 seconds off the pace of the four leaders. The other stars didn't shine in Gieten. Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) crashed hard when trying to close the gap to the four leaders. The experienced Belgian headed straight to the hospital while complaining about pain in his neck and wrist.

Saturday's World Cup winner Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) had a complete off-day on Sunday. After a disastrous start he never recovered and eventually pulled out of the race. World champion Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) was riding near the front of the race but ran into difficulties on the icy parcours. "I made a small mistake and had to switch bikes. After taking a new bike I bobbled. It's a real shame to lose out on the Superprestige after fighting so hard for it in Hamme-Zogge despite my sore knee," Stybar said. The world champion eventually failed to score any Superprestige points by finishing in 17th position.

Compared to the tough World Cup course in Koksijde on Saturday, the riders found a fast, frozen and twisting course in the north of The Netherlands. The average speed on the tricky course reached 29 km/h, challenging the bike handling skills of the riders as the circuit grew slipperier throughout the race.

Four riders separated themselves from the field approximately half way through the race and steadily extended their lead: Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet), Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) and BKCP-Powerplus riders Dieter Vanthourenhout and Radomir Simunek Jr.

Meeusen and Nys proved the strongest of this group and the duo held a slight gap over the BKCP-Powerplus teammates entering the finishing straight. Meeusen led out the sprint with Nys tucked in behind, but the Belgian champion's left pedal snapped off the crankarm providing Meeusen with his biggest victory to date.

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Full Results
1Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team1:02:40
2Radomir Simunek Jr. (Cze) BKCP-Powerplus0:00:10
3Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP-PowerplusRow 2 - Cell 2
4Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet0:00:25
5Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team0:00:45
6Eddy van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink Cycling TeamRow 5 - Cell 2
7Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Off Road TeamRow 6 - Cell 2
8Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off Road TeamRow 7 - Cell 2
9Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco - Revor Cycling TeamRow 8 - Cell 2
10Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus0:00:55
11Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team0:01:00
12Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor0:01:20
13Jan Denuwelaere (Bel) Rendement Hypo Cycling Team0:01:25
14Sacha Weber (Ger) Stevens Racing Team0:01:30
15Tom van den Bosch (Bel) AA Drink Cycling Team0:01:35
16Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Sunweb - RevorRow 15 - Cell 2
17Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team0:01:40
18Mitchell Huenders (Ned) BKCP-Powerplus0:02:10
19Ben Berden (Bel) Qin Cycling TeamRow 18 - Cell 2
20Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink Cycling TeamRow 19 - Cell 2
21Ondrej Bambula (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar TáborRow 20 - Cell 2
22Jan Verstraeten (Bel) KDL-Trans0:02:25
23Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike0:02:55
24Kenneth van Compernolle (Bel) Sunweb-Revor0:03:55
25Jordy Luisman (Ned) RSE Cycling Team0:04:05
26Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Van Vliet EBH Elshof0:04:15
27Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned)0:04:25
28Johannes Sickmüller (Ger) Stevens Racing Team0:05:25
29Tim Ottens (Ned)-3laps
30Michael Stenzel (Ger)-4laps
31Jorge Cantalicio (Spa)Row 30 - Cell 2
32Frank Huisman (Ned)-5laps
33Jos Feiken (Ned)-6laps
34Alberto Candelas (Spa)Row 33 - Cell 2
35Kaey Van Rij (Ned) PRC DeltaRow 34 - Cell 2
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Superprestige Series standings after 5 rounds
1Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet68pts
2Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team56Row 1 - Cell 3
3Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team51Row 2 - Cell 3
4Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team49Row 3 - Cell 3
5Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus46Row 4 - Cell 3
6Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team45Row 5 - Cell 3
7Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team39Row 6 - Cell 3
8Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor35Row 7 - Cell 3
9Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team28Row 8 - Cell 3
10Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team23Row 9 - Cell 3
11Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus18Row 10 - Cell 3
12Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team17Row 11 - Cell 3
13Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus17Row 12 - Cell 3
14Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor15Row 13 - Cell 3
15Radomir Simunek Jr. (Cze) BKCP-Powerplus14Row 14 - Cell 3
16Steve Chainel (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom12Row 15 - Cell 3
17Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus12Row 16 - Cell 3
18Jan Denuwelaere (Bel) Rendement Hypo Cycling Team11Row 17 - Cell 3
19Eddy van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team11Row 18 - Cell 3
20Kenneth van Compernolle (Bel) Sunweb-Revor9Row 19 - Cell 3
21Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team7Row 20 - Cell 3
22Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com4Row 21 - Cell 3
23Jan Verstraeten (Bel) KDL-Trans3Row 22 - Cell 3
24Petr Dlask (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team3Row 23 - Cell 3
25Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike3Row 24 - Cell 3
26Sacha Weber (Ger) Stevens Racing Team2Row 25 - Cell 3
27Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team1Row 26 - Cell 3
28Tom van den Bosch (Bel) AA Drink Cycling Team1Row 27 - Cell 3

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