Wyman adds a third cobble trophy to her collection in Koppenbergcross

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Helen Wyman (Kona) won the Koppenbercross on Thursday afternoon, the second round of the Bpost Bank cyclo-cross series. It's the eighth win of the season for Wyman. The European champion won ahead of Belgian champion Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) and British champion Nikki Harris (Young Telenet-Fidea).

Harris remains leader in the overall ranking of the Bpost Bank cyclo-cross series with a 29 second lead on Wyman. It was the farewell race of French rider Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (Faren Kuota).

"My mantelpiece is getting heavy. It's my third cobble already," Wyman said. Three wins isn't quite near the number of wins of Sven Nys in the Elite Men category. Then again, Wyman is the only woman who managed to win the Koppenbergcross more than once.

After last week's win in Ruddervoorde defending champion Wyman heads to the European championships in Mlada Boleska, Czech Republic, as top-favourite. "The European championships are a goal. You have to defend your title. The freshest and strongest rider will win there. I'm pretty fresh," Wyman said.

At the Koppenbergcross Wyman always seemed in control of affairs. Wyman led most of the first lap. Uphill she showed her power and only Cant managed to stay within touching distance of the British rider who resides in Oudenaarde, near the Koppenberg. A group with Ferrier-Bruneau, Sophie de Boer (Young Telenet-Fidea), Harris and Ellen Van Loy (DNCS/PRO2012) trailed the duo by eight seconds.

During the second of four laps Harris closed the gap to the two leaders just before the ascent of the Koppenberg. Wyman didn't allow Harris to recover and she quickly upped the pace. "Cant didn't push on the sections where I gained time so I went again," Wyman said.

Harris quickly popped while Cant stood tall. In the meadow on the steepest part of the Koppenberg, Wyman stood on the pedals again and left Cant behind. At the top of the climb Cant trailed already by 10 seconds, with Harris five more seconds down. "In the descent I came back to about five seconds of Helen," said Cant, "but then I flatted and lost five more seconds when switching bikes. I think Helen and I were matched to each other today. Too bad I flatted but I'm pleased that I was in the mix for the win," Cant said.

During the third and fourth lap Wyman kept Cant in check. The Belgian rider came back to four seconds when hitting the final lap but she couldn't close the final meters. "She came close but not completely back. I just had to do two good climbs," Wyman said.

Meanwhile behind the duo Harris lost a bit of ground and settled for third place. In the background Christel Ferrier-Bruneau came to a crash in the descent. "I wanted to finish on the podium in my last race. I gave everything but it didn't work . I crashed because I wasn't lucid enough," Ferrier-Bruneau told Cyclingnews.

The third round of the Bpost Bank cyclo-cross series is held in Hasselt in two weeks time.

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