Nash claims convincing win at Namur World Cup

In the autumn of her career, Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) managed to beat all of the best in a top-notch starting field and grab her third-ever World Cup victory in Namur, Belgium.

The 37 year-old Czech champion won the fourth World Cup round alone ahead of world champion Marianne Vos (Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team) and US and Pan-American champion Katie Compton (Trek Factory Team).

World Cup leader Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) struggled on the demanding course and could only manage sixth place, barely holding on to her white jersey of World Cup leader by just one point over Compton.

“I just felt really good, especially in the second half of the race. I was running strong and riding really well. I’m just happy. I’m really surprised because you don’t really know how you do until you compare with the European racers, as this was my first European race,” Nash said.

Former World Cup leader Sophie de Boer (Kalas-NNOF) had the best start but possibly felt the effort from yesterday’s win in Essen in her legs as she quickly faded. Compton and Sabine Stultiens (Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team) missed their start, meanwhile.

Italian champion Eva Lechner (Rusvelo) took over the command in front but she had no answer ready when Vos accelerated. Halfway through the opening lap, Nash worked her way through the chase group on the hilly course. Neither Lechner nor French riders Lucie Chainel-Lefevre and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot were able to hold her wheel and Nash was soon riding solo in second place.

“I started further back today so I had to be patient and make it through the traffic. I kind of had the feeling Marianne would take off as she usually does. I stayed calm and I could see her,” Nash said.

Vos had a small lead on Nash after the opening lap and that gap grew up to 22 seconds halfway the second lap as Nash slipped away and landed into the netting at the side of the course on a left hand corner. But Nash was riding faster over the slopes of the Namur citadel than Vos, and half a lap later the gap was back down to 16 seconds.

Behind, Compton passed Lechner, Ferrand-Prévot and Chainel, and was riding alone in third place by the end of the second lap.

Halfway through the race, Nash was able to bridge up to Vos, who was now struggling to maintain her fast starting pace. “Suddenly halfway through the race she was coming closer and closer to me. I was slowly creeping up to her,” Nash said. The duo hit the penultimate lap together, with Compton trailing by 25 seconds. The next group was one minute down on the leaders, and comprised of Ellen Van Loy (Young Telenet-Fidea) and Ferrand-Prévot, who had distanced Lechner, Chainel and Sanne Cant.

In front, Nash was clearly having the upper hand in her duel with Vos. She took the lead while Vos struggled to hold her wheel. “By riding a hard pace I managed to distance her. At that moment I didn’t hesitate,” Nash said. When Vos was gapped on a tough muddy section she rode into the netting and lost even more time, and Nash quickly created a lead of half a minute over Vos.

Compton was matching Vos’ pace but unable to make any inroads, while in the background Ferrand-Prévot crashed hard on one of the steep descents. The French champion was overtaken by Van Loy, Lechner and Chainel, and suddenly found herself in seventh place, just ahead of Cant.

Out in front, Nash made no mistakes as she worked her way towards a well-deserved victory, high-fiving with the crowd as she crossed the finish line. In 2009 she won the World Cup round in Roubaix and two years later the World Cup round in Tabor. In Namur, she found a course that suited her MTB background.

“It’s great to come here and win straight away. I was riding Shimano disc brakes and on courses like this I know I can take the descents at high speed because I know I can stop at the bottom. That’s the technique I carry over from MTB technique,” Nash said. She added that she will be riding more European races with an eye on the Tabor world championships, in her home country. “It’s the first kind of event where I can compare with the rest of the world. It’ll give me a lot of confidence and I’m excited to carry on throughout January,” Nash said.

World champion Vos waved to the spectators in Namur when she finished as runner-up, 34 seconds behind Nash. Compton was third at 1:07 from the Czech winner, who resides in the USA. A late crash from Ellen Van Loy couldn’t prevent her from taking fourth place at 1:47, while Ferrand-Prévot was fifth.

Sanne Cant rode a strong final lap and passed Chainel-Lefevre and Lechner to take sixth place and the World Cup points necessary to hold on to her white jersey. British champion Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team) was not on her favourite course in Namur, and finished ninth, ahead of Stultiens who completed the top 10 in Namur. De Boer finished on a distant thirteenth place.

On December 26, the riders will tackle the World Cup's fifth round in Zolder, Belgium.

 

Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team0:44:15
2Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team0:00:34
3Katherin Compton (USA) Trek Factory Racing0:01:07
4Ellen Van Looy (Bel) VZW Young Telenet Fidea Cycling Team0:01:47
5Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Fra) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team0:01:52
6Sanne Cant (Bel) Enertherm-BKCP0:02:07
7Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (Fra)0:02:16
8Eva Lechner (Ita) Team Colnago Sudtirol0:02:21
9Helen Wyman (GBr) Kona Factory Team0:02:33
10Sabrina Stultiens (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team0:02:38
11Christine Majerus (Lux) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team0:03:11
12Martina Mikulaskova (Cze)0:03:58
13Sophie De Boer (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team0:04:01
14Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team0:04:30
15Jolien Verschueren (Bel)0:04:33
16Pavla Havlikova (Cze)0:04:41
17Kaitlin Antonneau (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld0:04:59
18Sanne Van Paassen (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team0:05:24
19Loes Sels (Bel)0:05:33
20Erica Zaveta (USA)0:05:36
21Githa Michiels (Bel) Trek-KMC Trade Team0:05:37
22Crystal Anthony (USA) Optum Pro Cycling0:05:52
23Jessica Lambracht (Ger)0:06:03
24Aida Nuno (Spa) Lointek0:06:24
25Nadja Heigl (Aut)0:06:32
26Arley Kemmerer (USA)0:06:39
27Katrien Thijs (Bel)0:06:47
28Gabriella Durrin (GBr)0:06:56
29Amira Mellor (GBr)0:07:21
30Marlene Petit (Fra)0:07:27
31Elena Valentini (Ita) BTC City LjubljanaRow 30 - Cell 2
32Bianca Van Den Hoek (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team0:07:38
33Caroline Mani (Fra)0:07:40
34Lise-Marie Henzelin (Swi)0:07:44
35Asa Maria Erlandsson (Swe)0:08:07
36Laura Verdonschot (Bel)0:08:19
37Mercedes Pacios Pujado (Spa)0:08:26
38Reza Hormes (Ned)0:08:50
39Lisa Heckmann (Ger)0:09:39
40Milena Landtwing (Swi)- 1 lap
41Laura Perry (Fra)- 1 lap
42Nikola Noskova (Cze)- 1 lap
43Hannah Payton (GBr)- 1 lap
44Olivia Hottinger (Swi)- 1 lap
45Karen Verhestraeten (Bel)- 1 lap
46Cecile Delaire (Fra)- 1 lap
47Eva Colin (Fra)- 1 lap
48Vendula Kuntova (Cze) Remerx-Merida Team Kolin- 1 lap
49Lizzy Witlox (Ned)- 1 lap
50Denisa Lukesova (Cze)- 1 lap
51Maud Kaptheijns (Ned)- 1 lap
52Elizabeth White (USA)- 1 lap
53Margriet Helena Kloppenburg (Den)- 2 laps
54Denisa Minarikova-Svecova (Cze)- 2 laps
Swipe to scroll horizontally
World Cup Standings after Round 4:
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Sanne Cant (Bel) Enertherm-BKCP178pts
2Katherine Compton (USA) Trek Factory Racing177Row 1 - Cell 3
3Ellen Van Loy (Bel) VZW Young Telenet Fidea Cycling Team146Row 2 - Cell 3
4Helen Wyman (GBr) Kona Factory Team124Row 3 - Cell 3
5Sophie De Boer (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team123Row 4 - Cell 3
6Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (Fra)122Row 5 - Cell 3
7Nikki Harris (GBr) VZW Young Telenet Fidea Cycling Team110Row 6 - Cell 3
8Sabrina Stultiens (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team92Row 7 - Cell 3
9Pavla Havlikova (Cze)86Row 8 - Cell 3
10Martina Mikulaskova (Cze)84Row 9 - Cell 3
11Sanne Van Paassen (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team67Row 10 - Cell 3
12Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team60Row 11 - Cell 3
13Jolien Verschueren (Bel)56Row 12 - Cell 3
14Githa Michiels (Bel) Trek-KMC Trade Team54Row 13 - Cell 3
15Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team50Row 14 - Cell 3
16Christine Majerus (Lux) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team50Row 15 - Cell 3
17Caroline Mani (Fra)46Row 16 - Cell 3
18Aida Nuno (Spa) Lointek45Row 17 - Cell 3
19Rachel Lloyd (USA)43Row 18 - Cell 3
20Kaitlin Antonneau (USA)42Row 19 - Cell 3
21Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Fra) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team35Row 20 - Cell 3
22Elle Anderson (USA)35Row 21 - Cell 3
23Crystal Anthony (USA)35Row 22 - Cell 3
24Gabriella Durrin (GBr)32Row 23 - Cell 3
25Karen Verhestraeten (Bel)27Row 24 - Cell 3
26Eva Lechner (Ita) Rusvelo26Row 25 - Cell 3
27Arley Kemmerer (USA)25Row 26 - Cell 3
28Laura Perry (Fra)23Row 27 - Cell 3
29Loes Sels (Bel)23Row 28 - Cell 3
30Reza Hormes (Ned)23Row 29 - Cell 3
31Lise-Marie Henzelin (Swi)21Row 30 - Cell 3
32Laura Verdonschot (Bel)21Row 31 - Cell 3
33Meredith Miller (USA)19Row 32 - Cell 3
34Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team17Row 33 - Cell 3
35Marlene Petit (Fra)17Row 34 - Cell 3
36Nikola Noskova (Cze)14Row 35 - Cell 3
37Lizzy Witlox (Ned)14Row 36 - Cell 3
38Nadja Heigl (Aut)13Row 37 - Cell 3
39Erica Zaveta (USA)11Row 38 - Cell 3
40Stephanie Vaxillaire (Fra)11Row 39 - Cell 3
41Asa Maria Erlandsson (Swe)11Row 40 - Cell 3
42Juliette Labous (Fra)10Row 41 - Cell 3
43Maghalie Rochette (Can) Luna Pro Team10Row 42 - Cell 3
44Katrien Thijs (Bel)9Row 43 - Cell 3
45Jessica Lambracht (Ger)8Row 44 - Cell 3
46Bianca Van Den Hoek (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team7Row 45 - Cell 3
47Amira Mellor (GBr)7Row 46 - Cell 3
48Lisa Heckmann (Ger)6Row 47 - Cell 3
49Elena Valentini (Ita) BTC City Ljubljana6Row 48 - Cell 3
50Adela Carter (GBr)3Row 49 - Cell 3
51Vendula Kuntova (Cze) Remerx-Merida Team Kolin3Row 50 - Cell 3
52Hannah Payton (GBr)2Row 51 - Cell 3
53Mercedes Pacios Pujado (Spa)1Row 52 - Cell 3

 

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Latest on Cyclingnews