Vos breaks Compton's run with Koksijde win

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Cyclo-cross World Champion Marianne Vos has won the third round of the UCI's World Cup in Koksijde. Vos outsprinted compatriot Daphny Van den Brand to grab her first World Cup win of the season. Katherine Compton crashed halfway the race and eventually controlled the damage to finish third and retain her lead in the overall World Cup standings.

Vos was able to make good use of the powerful sprint which has earned her world titles in 'cross, road and track to claim her first World Cup win of the season. "I wasn't riding to make it a sprint, but of course I know it's a strong weapon for me," Vos said.

"It's a tough lap and I had a hard time to keep up with Daphny when riding up those dunes. My longer legs are in my advantage when running through the sand though," Vos added.

Van den Brand, who prefers a more technical course, found it difficult to unhinge Vos on a fast course in Koksijde. "It's a nice course but it was too easy because the sand was too loose," Van den Brand said.

Compton had a disastrous first lap and another crash halfway through the race put her out of contention for the victory. Undeterred, the American rode back into third position and was able to hold onto the overall lead in the World Cup standings. "I listened to the speakers and hoped Van den Brand would finish only second," Compton told Cyclingnews. Van den Brand is closing in on Compton and trails by only fifteen points.

Fourth placed Hanka Kupfernagel is still searching for her best form after taking a slow start to the season and missing most of the summer due to injury. The German rider had a good start but didn't have enough left in her tank to keep up with the leaders, and later  with Compton as she chased back into a podium position.

A tumultuous start included crashes all around the sandy course. In the first corner a massive pile-up occurred, involving Belgian Sanne Cant, and also Pavla Havlikova and Compton who hooked into each other. "I had nowhere to go and the crash broke some spokes," Compton said.

Panic hit the legs and Compton struggled through the first lap only after going through a few more crashes. "After that first crash I had to pit which put me back into traffic. Later on I crashed on my shoulder and then started on a wrong gear, crashing again... then I told myself: get your shit together and just pedal," Compton said.

An elite leader's group formed up ahead, which included Vos, Van den Brand, Dutch rider Sanne Van Paassen and Kupfernagel. When nearing the front of the race Compton crashed again - this time going over the handlebars - and she was left chasing at half a minute behind the leaders.

With three laps left to cover Compton bridged up to a group that rode for fifth place and one lap later the Colorado-based rider joined Sanne Van Paassen who rode in fourth place, at 36" from the leaders.

Meanwhile in front Vos and Van den Brand had dropped Kupfernagel. The two Dutch women collaborated well together and kept riding away from the rest of the field. Kupfernagel clearly had blown up her engine as one lap later Compton caught up with the German woman and quickly left her behind.

Going into the last lap Vos and Van den Brand were spotted talking when taking pulls on the finishing straight. "We agreed on collaborating further because we wanted to make sure the first two spots were ours," Van den Brand told Cyclingnews.

This pact put Compton in no man's land, being out of contention for the victory and well ahead of Kupfernagel. The latter was giving all she had to hold off Van Paassen, eventually with success. In front Van den Brand led most of the last lap and eventually she even led out the sprint. Vos needed little more and she finished her compatriot in the sprint.