Wyman takes Jaarmarktcross

Image 1 of 12

Helen Wyman (Kona) won a stormy edition of the Jaarmarktcross in Niel, Belgium, part of the Fidea Cyclo-cross Classics. The British champion clearly dealt best with the mud and rain near the Rupel river as she finished solo ahead of Dutch riders Daphny van den Brand (ZZPR.nl) and Sophie de Boer (ZZPR.nl). The Dutch teammates held off another strong British performance from Nicki Harris who finished fourth.

For Wyman, who finished third in the European championships and won the Koppenbergcross, the good results just keep flowing. "It's like waiting for a bus. You're waiting for hours and suddenly they all come at once," a delighted Wyman told Cyclingnews after her second big win in two weeks' time. "I just love this weather. There was so much mud and you simply had to ride you own pace. In the first lap some girls passed me on the off-camber section where I was messing it up. But from then on I went full throttle forward."

The foul weather and the rough course quickly separated the strong women from the rest of the pack. Wyman led the peloton through the first corners but on the dike she was passed by Sanne Cant (BKCP-Powerplus), Daphny van den Brand and a surprising Nicki Harris. Cant (BKCP-Powerplus) led this group of four for the remainder of the first lap, with only Sophie de Boer being able to join the leaders.

During the second lap Wyman moved forward with De Boer marking her wheel. The Dutchwoman, however, could not keep pace with the British champion and dropped back. "Helen went too hard for me," De Boer said.

Behind Wyman it was compatriot Harris who moved into second place, riding solo behind the leader. "It helped me that I had a front row position. Then everything is a bit easier early on. It saves you a lot of energy," Harris told Cyclingnews.

Halfway through the race Harris was joined by De Boer, and during the last lap Van den Brand also got into the mix for second place.

Meanwhile, Wyman steadily worked her way through the mud and the British champion won by a huge margin over her rivals. In the battle for the remaining podium spots De Boer had a gap on her rivals but when exiting the mud she suffered a mechanical. "My chain fell off and I feared that I would lose out on the podium," De Boer told Cyclingnews.

Van den Brand and Harris vied for second place honours but then Harris, too, ran into troubles. "I was heading for third place but on the road to the finish I didn't get my chain on the big ring. By the time I got my chain back on the others were gone," Harris said.

Due to the troubles of her rivals Van den Brand was handed second place. De Boer recovered to finish third, just ahead of Harris. "I'm happy that I was able to confirm my latest results," said De Boer, who also lauded the performance of Harris. "It was also surprising to see that Nicki Harris is getting back to her [previous] level."