Van Aert a class above the rest in GP Sven Nys
Young Belgian extends lead in Bpost Bank Trofee
With yet another demonstration Wout Van Aert (Vastgoedservice-Golden Palace) picked up another solo victory in the GP Sven Nys in sunny Baal, Belgium on New Year's day. On a tough course with sticky mud Van Aert finished 46 seconds ahead of Dutch champion Lars van der Haar and 56 seconds ahead of Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) in the seventh and penultimate round of the Bpost Bank Trophy cyclo-cross series.
Home rider Sven Nys (Crelan-AA Drink) was fifth at nearly two minutes from winner Van Aert. Thanks to his performance in Baal, his fifth win in seven rounds, Van Aert is assured the win in the overall Bpost Bank Trofee, which he now leads by 6:07 over Pauwels. With just one race remaining in the series, the Krawatencross in Lille in February, and a maximum time loss of 5:30, Van Aert could skip the last race if he wanted to. "I'm still planning to race it. I'd love to celebrate the overall victory in Lille," Van Aert said. The 20 year-old Belgian lives in Lille, near Antwerp.
"Before the season this wasn't what we expected. Now I'm heading to the Belgian championships with the hope for the victory. I don't have to win as there are many more chances remaining in the future," Van Aert told Sporza.
Halfway through the race Sven Nys made the home crowd go mad by bunny-hopping the barriers and moving into the lead position of a race for the first time in weeks. When Van Aert answered Nys' move with an attack only Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) was able to follow. One lap later Meeusen flatted at long distance from the pit area, ruining his day. A disillusioned Meeusen had to wave goodbye to a nearly certain second place in the overall classification. He faded to ninth place at the finish line, dropping to fourth overall in the series behind Van Aert, Pauwels and Nys. For Van Aert there was no other option than to go solo from there.
"I had something left in my tank during the second half of the race and got into the lead together with Tom Meeusen. Apparently he had a mechanical so I ended up riding solo at quite a distance from the finish. Quickly I had a big gap. Without the bad luck for Tom it would've been more exciting," Van Aert said, almost apologizing for his dominance.
Behind him Van der Haar rode away from Nys, Pauwels, and his once again strong performing teammate Gianni Vermeersch. The Dutchman regretted missing the move that put Van Aert and Meeusen in front. "When Nys attacked I briefly had a bad moment. I hoped the pace would drop but then Van Aert went flat out. At that moment it wasn't possible to keep up," Van der Haar said.
Van der Haar had no trouble taking second place. Behind him Pauwels gapped Nys for the final podium spot which was Nys' target before the race. Nys punctured on the final lap, and was overtaken by Vermeersch, who took his third top five result in one week of racing. "Top five seems possible at the Belgian championships. A selection for the world championships? If I keep racing like this then hopefully it'll follow automatically," Vermeersch told Sporza.
For Nys his fifth place was another step forward in his way back up the ladder after his recent struggles. "It wasn't bad, better than Loenhout. It wasn't possible to force things but I ended up riding in front nevertheless. Wout was playing with the pedals but I couldn't help giving it a shot. Right after that he attacked and I had to search for my own rhythm," Nys told Sporza. When asked about his chances for the Belgian championships Nys was clear. "Maybe a podium is possible but nothing more. One rider is a level above the rest. You're blind if you're denying that," Nys added.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Wout Van Aert (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team | 1:06:11 |
2 | Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Giant-Shimano Development Team | 0:00:46 |
3 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 0:00:56 |
4 | Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 0:01:24 |
5 | Sven Nys (Bel) Crelan - AA Drink Team | 0:01:54 |
6 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team | 0:02:01 |
7 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 0:02:16 |
8 | Joeri Adams (Bel) Vastgoedservice-Golden Palace Cycling Team | 0:02:19 |
9 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team | 0:02:21 |
10 | Marcel Meisen (Ger) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team | 0:03:18 |
11 | Tim Merlier (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 0:03:42 |
12 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team | 0:03:50 |
13 | Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Crelan - AA Drink | 0:03:54 |
14 | Patrick Gaudy (Bel) | 0:04:40 |
15 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team | 0:04:59 |
16 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team | 0:05:09 |
17 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Project Cross Racing | 0:05:40 |
18 | Vinnie Braet (Bel) | 0:06:03 |
19 | Kenneth Van Compernolle (Bel) | 0:06:34 |
20 | Lubomir Petrus (Cze) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team | 0:07:03 |
21 | Twan Van Den Brand (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Hendrik Sweeck (Bel) | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Ismael Felix Barba Frutos (Spa) | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Fabian Obrist (Swi) | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Yannick Mayer (Ger) | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Miguel Fillaut (Fra) | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Yu Takenouchi (Jpn) | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Ramon Sagues Portabella (Spa) | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Mark Mcconnell (Can) | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Angus Edmond (NZl) | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Christophe Cavazzana (Fra) | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Robert Wardell (GBr) | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Paul Redenbach (Aus) | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Wout Van Aert (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team | 9 | pts |
2 | Sven Nys (Bel) Crelan - AA Drink Team | 7 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Giant-Shimano Development Team | 4 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 3 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Corné Van Kessel Telenet Fidea Cycling Team | 3 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team | 3 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep Cycling Team | 2 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team | 2 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team | 1 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 1 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Wout Van Aert (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team | 7:17:51 |
2 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 0:06:07 |
3 | Sven Nys (Bel) Crelan - AA Drink Team | 0:07:09 |
4 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team | 0:07:34 |
5 | Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Giant-Shimano Development Team | 0:12:12 |
6 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team | 0:16:31 |
7 | Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Crelan - AA Drink | 0:17:08 |
8 | Joeri Adams (Bel) Vastgoedservice-Golden Palace Cycling Team | 0:17:24 |
9 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 0:18:54 |
10 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team | 0:19:40 |
11 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team | 0:19:41 |
12 | Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 0:20:54 |
13 | Jim Aernouts (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team | 0:21:00 |
15 | Marcel Meisen (Ger) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team | 0:23:23 |
16 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team | 0:23:26 |
17 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team | 0:23:57 |
18 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team | 0:25:17 |
19 | Jens Adams (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team | 0:25:26 |
20 | Tim Merlier (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 0:25:46 |
21 | Patrick Gaudy (Bel) | 0:25:57 |
22 | Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team | 0:28:33 |
23 | Twan Van Den Brand (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 0:28:50 |
24 | Gert-Jan Bosman (Ned) | 0:29:36 |
25 | Jan Denuwelaere (Bel) Vastgoedservice - Golden Palace Cycling Team | 0:29:53 |
26 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb - Napoleon Games Cycling Team | 0:30:06 |
27 | Corné Van Kessel (Ned) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team | 0:31:33 |
28 | Radomir Simunek (Cze) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team | 0:31:51 |
29 | Kevin Eeckhout (Bel) Van Assche-Alpha Motorhomes Cycling Team | 0:32:01 |
30 | Stephen Hyde (USA) JAM Fund Cyclo-cross | 0:32:07 |
31 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep Cycling Team | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Hendrik Sweeck (Bel) | 0:32:36 |
33 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Project Cross Racing | 0:32:38 |
34 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 0:33:13 |
35 | Vincent Baestaens (Bel) | 0:33:19 |
36 | Wietse Bosmans (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team | 0:33:23 |
37 | Severin Saegesser (Swi) | 0:33:31 |
38 | Kevin Cant (Bel) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team | 0:33:47 |
39 | Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 0:34:04 |
40 | Clement Lhotellerie (Fra) | 0:34:26 |
41 | Vinnie Braet (Bel) | 0:34:43 |
42 | Bart Hofman (Bel) Nodrugs Heroes Flanders | 0:34:52 |
43 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) | 0:35:00 |
44 | Niels Koyen (Bel) CCN - Metalac Cycling team | 0:35:12 |
45 | Cameron Jette (Can) | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Martin Bina (Cze) Corendon - KwadrO Cycling Team | 0:35:17 |
47 | Kenneth Van Compernolle (Bel) | 0:35:18 |
48 | Lubomir Petrus (Cze) BKCP - Powerplus Cycling Team | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Ismael Felix Barba Frutos (Spa) | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Yannick Mayer (Ger) | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Fabian Obrist (Swi) | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Miguel Fillaut (Fra) | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Mark Mcconnell (Can) | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Ramon Sagues Portabella (Spa) | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Yu Takenouchi (Jpn) | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Garry Millburn (NZl) | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Angus Edmond (NZl) | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Christophe Cavazzana (Fra) | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Robert Wardell (GBr) | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Paul Redenbach (Aus) | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Asier Urdaibai Erauzkin (Spa) | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Flavien Dassonville (Fra) Nogent Sur Oise | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Michael Boros (Cze) CEZ Cyklo Team Tabor | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Michal Malik (Cze) | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Kenneth Hansen (Den) | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Emil Hekele (Cze) | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Jeremy Durrin (USA) Neon Velo Cycling Team | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Arnau Rota Cano (Spa) | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Mario Matijevic (Bel) | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
71 | Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa) | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | Ingmar Uytdewilligen (Bel) Cycling Team Zemst VZW | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Agustin Navarro Vidal (Spa) | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Robert Marion (USA) American Classic Pro Cyclocross | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Christoph Ambroziak (Ger) | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Sven Kuschla (Ger) | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
78 | Yves Albrecht (Swi) | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
79 | Michael Boros (Cze) CEZ Cyklo Team Tabor | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Josep Betalu (Spa) | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
81 | Arnaud Grand (Swi) BMC Development Team | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
82 | Tom Van Den Bosch (Bel) | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
83 | Wouter Goosen (Bel) Zannata Cycling Team | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
84 | James Spragg (GBr) | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
86 | Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
87 | Eddy Van Ijzendoorn (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
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