Stybar back on top in Ardooie

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The annual Kermiscross in Ardooie came down to a sprint between Zdenek Stybar (Quickstep) and Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet), and as is usual in this case, Stybar emerged victorious for his third win of the year.

The reigning world champion showed he is back on form for the upcoming UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in his home country. The Czech rider has been nursing a sore knee since his home-town race in Stribro, but seems to be back to full strength after hammering the field into submission in Ardooie.

"I felt good today and went into the race to get the win," Stybar said. He wasn't able to dislodge Nys on the final laps, but handily defeated him in the sprint. "It was a very long sprint. I started the sprint from the front and never relented."

For Nys, the outcome was expected, although he gave it his best try. "When I go Stybar to the finish, I know it will be difficult," Nys said. After having technical problems with his bike in Ruddervoorde, he seemed to believe the issues had been solved. "Everything was fine today. They have done some tinkering with the bike, I had no more problems. Hopefully it remains that way."

The pre-World Cup warm-up was quick from the gun with a strong field of racers> In the second lap, a selection had already been made with Stybar, Jan Denuwelaere (Style & Concept), Dieter Vanthourenhout (BKCP-Powerplus), Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) and Rob Peeters (Telenet-Fidea).

Peeters' teammate Bart Wellens bridged across halfway through the race with Nys, Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus) and Joeri Adams (Telent-Fidea).

With four laps to go, Nys and Stybar shook up the race and no one could follow except Vanthourenhout, but even he had to let go after a time. Vanthourenhout held on for third behind the two 'cross stars, while Wellens jumped away from the chase group to take fourth over Walsleben.

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