Meeusen claims Koppenbergcross cobble

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Young Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) grabbed the biggest win of his career at the Koppenbergcross on Friday afternoon. The 24-year-old Belgian showed off his fast legs in a blistering fast final lap in a tactical race at a dry Koppenberg, near Oudenaarde, Belgium.

“Sven Nys describes this race as the second most important race of the season so to win this one is really nice. It’s the most beautiful win of my career,” Meeusen said.

Sunweb-Napoleon Games teammates Kevin Pauwels and Klaas Vantornout rounded out the podium in the second round of the Bpost Bank cyclo-cross series. World champion Sven Nys (Crelan-Euphony) was expected to grab his tenth Koppenbergcross victory but he made a technical mistake late in the race and finished fifth, nevertheless extending his overall lead in the series over Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus), who only managed an eighth place at the Koppenberg.

“I’m not bad but not on top of the rest like last year. Nevertheless I should’ve been able to sprint with four for the win but I was in too big of a gear when hopping back on the bike after the descent,” Nys said.

The first lap was significant in the story of the whole race. British champion Ian Field (Hargroves Cycles) led the bunch over the meadow on the first stretches of the Koppenberg. Belgian champion Vantornout didn’t keep up with ‘Ian de Brit’ and for two laps the rest of the field kept their guns quiet. For Field it was a highlight of his ‘cross career. “I thought, ‘I’m leading on the Koppenberg.’ It was like a dream. In a way, Vantornout let me go but I seized the opportunity,” Field told Cyclingnews.

During the third of eight laps, German champion Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus) attacked a first time. It provoked a first reaction from Nys who brought the bunch back to the front. “It was necessary,” Nys said while Walsleben simply tried to make the selection. “Everybody was waiting. A fast final lap doesn’t suit me. It’s too explosive so I tried to make the race hard,” Walsleben said.

Eventually eight riders survived the series of accelerations and cease-fires. World champion Nys seemed to be playing a poker game as he was often spotted at the back of the group. “It cost a lot of energy to stay in the top-4 but that wasn’t necessary here. I rode my own pace and closed gaps on the hard sections,” Nys said. It turned out Meeusen had the best cards in his hands as he surged forward in the last lap. “I wanted to get a gap on the final climb but figured it was too far from the finish as there was still a long meadow with headwind towards the finish line,” Meeusen said.

Vantornout tried his luck but he was caught back by Meeusen just before riding out of the meadow onto the finishing straight. Pauwels sat on Meeusen’s wheel but he didn’t stand a chance against the fierce sprint from the 25-year-old Belgian.

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