Sunweb-ProJob's Klaas Vantornout has withdrawn from the Niel Jaarmarktcross in Belgium on Wednesday, due a torn tendon in his right shoulder.
Despite Vantornout's earlier confirmation that he would compete in the event, Belgian website HLN.be today reported that after consultation with his team the 27-year-old had decided to pull of the race in order to protect his major season objectives.
Vantornout suffered the tear in a crash at the Hoogstraten round of the Superprestige series on November 1. He completed the race to finish fifth, but was later diagnosed with the injury.
He returned to competition on Sunday at the third round of the International Cycling Union's (UCI) Cyclo-cross World Cup in Nommay, France, where he finished twelfth. Vantornout had told Sporza on Monday that in spite of the risks, he would continue to compete.
"The pain ebbed away, but Sunday was worse in Nommay. Two weeks rest would cure everything, but I cannot afford to lose that amount of time," he said.
However, Vantornout will now take a break from competition to give the injury time to heal. A decision will be make on his return after further medical assessment on Saturday.
Vantornout finished third at the opening round of the World Cup season in Treviso, Italy, and currently sits fifth in the UCI World Cup Cyclo-cross rankings. World Cyclo-cross Champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus), who leads the World Cup series, has been confirmed as a starter in the Niel Jaarmarktcross.
| 1 | Niels Albert (Bel) Bkcp-Powerplus | 240 | pts |
| 2 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 205 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Francis Mourey (Fra) Française Des Jeux | 165 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| 4 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 156 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
| 5 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb Pro Job Cycling Team | 154 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
| 6 | Christian Heule (Swi) | 138 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
| 7 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago | 135 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
| 8 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) | 132 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
| 9 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas | 128 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
| 10 | Martin Zlamalik (Cze) | 120 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
| 11 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank | 113 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
| 12 | Petr Dlask (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 109 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
| 13 | Martin Bina (Cze) | 104 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
| 14 | Erwin Vervecken (Bel) | 104 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
| 15 | Thijs Al (Ned) | 100 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
| 16 | Jan Verstraeten (Bel) | 97 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
| 17 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) | 93 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
| 18 | Radomir Simunek (Cze) Bkcp-Powerplus | 92 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
| 19 | Laurent Colombatto (Fra) | 89 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
| 20 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Bkcp-Powerplus | 88 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
| 21 | Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 88 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
| 22 | Kamil Ausbuher (Cze) | 84 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
| 23 | Steve Chainel (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 80 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
| 24 | Eddy Van Ijzendoorn (Ned) | 73 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
| 25 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 66 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
| 26 | Jonathan Lopez (Fra) | 65 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
| 27 | Alessandro Gambino (Ita) | 62 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
| 28 | Ondrej Bambula (Cze) | 60 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
| 29 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago | 59 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
| 30 | Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) | 57 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
| 31 | Jonathan Page (USA) | 49 | Row 30 - Cell 3 |
| 32 | Wilant Van Gils (Ned) | 44 | Row 31 - Cell 3 |
| 33 | Fabio Ursi (Ita) | 44 | Row 32 - Cell 3 |
| 34 | Ian Field (GBr) | 42 | Row 33 - Cell 3 |
| 35 | Pawel Szczepaniak (Pol) | 41 | Row 34 - Cell 3 |
| 36 | Milan Barenyi (Svk) | 40 | Row 35 - Cell 3 |
| 37 | Jérome Chevallier (Fra) | 39 | Row 36 - Cell 3 |
| 38 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) | 38 | Row 37 - Cell 3 |
| 39 | David Derepas (Fra) | 37 | Row 38 - Cell 3 |
| 40 | Robert Gavenda (Svk) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 35 | Row 39 - Cell 3 |
| 41 | Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb Pro Job Cycling Team | 35 | Row 40 - Cell 3 |
| 42 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) | 33 | Row 41 - Cell 3 |
| 43 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Bkcp-Powerplus | 32 | Row 42 - Cell 3 |
| 44 | Ivar Hartogs (Ned) | 32 | Row 43 - Cell 3 |
| 45 | Lukas Kloucek (Cze) Sunweb Pro Job Cycling Team | 30 | Row 44 - Cell 3 |
| 46 | Johannes Sickmueller (Ger) | 30 | Row 45 - Cell 3 |
| 47 | Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa) | 28 | Row 46 - Cell 3 |
| 48 | Luca Damiani (Ita) Colavita / Sutter Home | 27 | Row 47 - Cell 3 |
| 49 | Vaclav Metlicka (Svk) | 25 | Row 48 - Cell 3 |
| 50 | Roy Van Heeswijk (Ned) | 25 | Row 49 - Cell 3 |
| 51 | Sascha Wagner (Ger) | 23 | Row 50 - Cell 3 |
| 52 | Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) | 22 | Row 51 - Cell 3 |
| 53 | Marco Ponta (Ita) | 21 | Row 52 - Cell 3 |
| 54 | Jan Soetens (Bel) Revor-Jartazi Cyclingteam | 20 | Row 53 - Cell 3 |
| 55 | Martin Haring (Svk) | 16 | Row 54 - Cell 3 |
| 56 | Zdenek Mlynar (Cze) | 13 | Row 55 - Cell 3 |
| 57 | Robert Glajza (Svk) | 13 | Row 56 - Cell 3 |
| 58 | Julien Pion (Fra) | 10 | Row 57 - Cell 3 |
| 59 | Jens Westergren (Swe) | 10 | Row 58 - Cell 3 |
| 60 | Clément Bourgoin (Fra) | 9 | Row 59 - Cell 3 |
| 61 | René Lang (Swi) | 6 | Row 60 - Cell 3 |
| 62 | Peter Presslauer (Aut) | 4 | Row 61 - Cell 3 |
| 63 | Marek Canecky (Svk) | 3 | Row 62 - Cell 3 |
| 64 | Andreas Moser (Swi) | 3 | Row 63 - Cell 3 |
| 65 | Zoltan Tisza (Hun) | 2 | Row 64 - Cell 3 |
| 66 | Sascha Weber (Ger) | 1 | Row 65 - Cell 3 |
| 67 | Rafael Visinelli (Ita) | 1 | Row 66 - Cell 3 |
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