Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) warms up the UCI leader kit in Colorado(Image credit: Mitchell Clinton)
Boom rumbles through the mud
Round three of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Pijnacker, the Neteherlands, produced two first time winners at the World Cup level. In the men's race, young Dutchman, Lars Boom took the biggest win of his career in his own backyard in one of the toughest races so far this season.
After days of teeming rain, the course, which had favoured UCI leader Sven Nys for the past three years, became a mucky bog which was un-rideable in several sections. The tough conditions relegated Nys to limiting his losses in fifth, while his young team-mate rode to mud-spattered glory.
Boom's win underscored that importance of the under 23 time trial world champion's decision to focus on cyclo-cross for the coming seasons.
"I made the right choice," Boom said. "This weekend was one to remember. Up there with the strongest on two of the hardest races is super. To be able to win one of those makes it doubly so. It is for me confirmation that I made the right choice in choosing cyclo-cross," he told HLN.be.
"The week's rest that I had after Koppenberg had the right effect. This weekend, I wanted to be in good form for the first world cup in front of my own people. I dreamed of a podium place and it became more. When I was riding on my own in the lead, I expected Bart Wellens to come back. I actually let him catch me in order to spare strength for the last lap. It had to happen then and it did. The first world cup win of my career and to do it in my home country is just super," Boom explained.
Compton takes first 'cross World Cup win
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By Brecht Decaluwé
In only her third ever World Cup race, American Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) took her first victory on the cyclo-cross World Cup circuit. The 29 year-old UCI leader totally dominated the women's race in Pijnacker, Netherlands where local Dutch riders had hoped to continue their domination from previous rounds.
Thirty-four women started the second World Cup race of the season, and the big favourite was newly crowned European champion Daphny Van Den Brand (ZZPR.nl) who had won the previous World Cup race in Kalmthout. Compton decided things would be different this time and dropped everybody including Van Den Brand on the first lap.
A chasing group gathered behind the American including Belgian Sanne Cant (ASD Selle Italia Guerciotti) who had a good start, but the 17 year-old couldn't maintain her tempo and eventually finished eighth. While Compton worked hard to build her lead, a group of three women formed behind her. Van Den Brand and compatriot Rheza Hormes Ravenstein were joined by Birgit Hollmann (Team Getränke-Hoffmann) and going into the final laps it was clear they would battle for second place.
Compton cruised to grab her first ever World Cup win while Van Den Brand dropped her rivals to grab second place. The experienced Hormes Ravenstein claimed third place, accompanying her compatriot Van Den Brand on the podium.
See full coverage of the Pijnacker round of the cyclo-cross World Cup here.
