Sven Nys was in a class of his own (Image credit: Frank Bodenmuller)
By Brecht Decaluwé
Sven Nys (Rabobank) bounced back from his bad luck during yesterday’s race and won his third world cup race of the season. The Belgian champion was the only one who could answer an early attack from Frenchman Francis Mourey (Fdjeux.com) who won the last world cup race in Treviso. After three laps, Nys accelerated and proved to be the strongest rider in the mud - nobody saw the leader of the UCI-rankings again. Team Rabobank will be happy to see that they had the winner, but also that all of five of their riders managed a top ten result.
With this victory, the Belgian took revenge for his bad luck in Niel. "It’s not really revenge - it’s the birthday of my son, and then I’m always able to do something more, especially in a world cup race," Nys explained. A few weeks ago, Nys waited much longer before going on the attack. "On these muddy courses it doesn't matter if you ride alone or with someone else. You always need to choose your own track," Nys said.
Francis Mourey proves to be the strongest challenger to Sven Nys in the world cup races. "Mourey didn't ride yesterday [in Niel], so he was fresher than most of us; he was the man to follow at the start. Nevertheless he couldn't follow my pace later on in the race," said Nys.
Francis Mourey once more showed his good form with a second place, and following his recent successes, he may have set new targets for the rest of the season. "My form is great, that’s for sure; actually I don't even like these muddy races as I prefer faster courses. I’m eager to win at the world championships!" Mourey said.
