Albert tops Nys at Azencross
Last lap fall in pit area costs Nys shot at victory
Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) has won the fifth round of the GVA Trophy in Loenhout, Belgium for the second time in his career. Top honours in Loenhout came down to a two-man battle between Albert and Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet), who had separated themselves from a five-man lead group during the fifth of eight laps.
Just as in the Superprestige Diegem race two days ago, it appeared that victory would be decided in a sprint finish between Albert and Nys, but the Belgian champion's recent run of bad luck continued as Nys fell in the pit area on the last lap while making a bike exchange. Nys quickly got back on his feet and mounted his fresh bike but could not close the gap on Albert, who had bypassed the pit and soloed to victory.
"Sven and I fought out a close game today. We both made mistakes but in the end I expected a sprint would be the decider," said Albert. "Suddenly Sven crashed and I didn't hesitate to go from there. Too bad because I would have loved to sprint against Sven, then I would know before the Belgian championships who the fastest was."
For Sven Nys it was yet another blow that kept him from winning a race. "The run of bad luck doesn't seem to come to an end. It's becoming a bit too much," Nys said. The Belgian champion has already had potential victories erased in three previous races due to a faulty pit exchange, a pedal which fell off and a dropped chain.
Nevertheless, Nys did a good job in the overall standings in which he made up six points on leader Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea). On New Year's day Nys can become the new overall leader in his home town of Baal.
World champion Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) rounded out the podium in third place, finishing 47 seconds down on Albert in his second race after his return to competition. In the final lap Stybar left his teammate Pauwels and German champion Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus) behind.
Belgians Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea), Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) and Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) rolled across the line more than a minute behind winner Albert.
Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) battled his way into this group and grabbed ninth place just ahead of Bart Aernouts (Rabobank-Giant Off Road). For Page it was his best result of the season in a European C1-ranked race. "Exactly. I'm happy I raced well and happy with where I'm at. Now it's a matter of confirming this result," Page said.
Niels Albert also grabbed the €1000 bonus for clocking the fastest lap time of the race. Albert won this mini-competition just ahead of Kevin Pauwels and Philipp Walsleben.
The next round of the GVA Trophy will be held in Baal, Belgium on New Year's day.
1 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:56:22 |
2 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 0:00:11 |
3 | Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:00:47 |
4 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:00:52 |
5 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:00:59 |
6 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:01:12 |
7 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 0:01:21 |
8 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:01:27 |
9 | Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike | 0:01:28 |
10 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 0:01:29 |
11 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank | 0:01:45 |
12 | Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 0:02:23 |
13 | Christian Heule (Swi) Champion System LBS | 0:02:25 |
14 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Auber 93 | 0:02:28 |
15 | Petr Dlask (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:02:33 |
16 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 0:02:41 |
17 | Kenneth van Compernolle (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 0:02:47 |
18 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 0:02:48 |
20 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team | 0:03:09 |
21 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 0:03:13 |
22 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:03:24 |
23 | Eddy van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 0:03:33 |
24 | Egoitz Murgoitio (Spa) | 0:03:39 |
25 | Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 0:03:43 |
26 | Jan Verstraeten (Bel) KDL-Trans | 0:03:44 |
27 | Ben Berden (Bel) Qin Cycling Team | 0:03:50 |
28 | Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 0:04:03 |
29 | Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned) | 0:04:27 |
30 | Wilant van Gils (Ned) CX Nederland | 0:04:29 |
31 | Kevin Cant (Bel) Van Goethem Prorace Cycling Team | 0:04:34 |
32 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 0:04:40 |
33 | Patrick Gaudy (Bel) | 0:05:33 |
34 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Tom van den Bosch (Bel) AA Drink Cycling Team | 0:05:36 |
36 | Rene Birkenfeld (Ger) Harvesterhude Rv | 0:05:42 |
37 | Robert Gavenda (Svk) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:06:06 |
38 | Marek Cichosz (Pol) Legia-Felt | 0:06:10 |
39 | Mitchell Huenders (Ned) BKCP-Powerplus | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Keiichi Tsujiura (Jpn) | 0:06:22 |
41 | Rikke Dijkxhoorn (Ned) Van Vliet EBH Elshof | -1lap |
42 | Stijn Huys (Bel) | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Isaac Suarez (Spa) | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Bart Verschueren (Bel) Champion System LBS Team | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Brian Matter (USA) Gear Grinder | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | -2laps |
47 | Jody Crawforth (GBr) Hargroves Cycles/Trant/Next/Scott/GSI | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Tom De Kort (Bel) APB Cycling Team | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Yu Takenouchi (Jpn) | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Sebastien Le Naour (Fra) | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Florian Le Corré (Fra) Flers Cyclisme 61 | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Mitchell Hoke (USA) Clif Bar Development Team | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Tim Van Nuffel (Bel) Van Goethem - Prorace | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Craig Richey (Can) Cyclocrossracing.Com p/b Blue | -3laps |
55 | Mark Lalonde (USA) Cal Giant-Specialized | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Ryan Iddings (USA) Redline | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Sean Babcock (USA) Kona | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Fernandez Suarez (Spa) | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Gianni Denolf (Bel) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Jimmy Tielens (Bel) Team Saeco Heist O/D Berg | -4laps |
61 | Ryan Knapp (USA) BikeReg.com | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Hikaru Kosaka (Jpn) | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Davy Yeater (USA) River City Bicycles-Cannondale | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Shaun Adamson (Can) Cycle-Smart | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Gareth Whittall (GBr) | -5laps |
66 | David Andrew Quist (USA) Team Clif Bar Cycling | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
1 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 3 | pts |
2 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 2 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 1 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
1 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:06:49 |
2 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:00:02 |
3 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:00:03 |
1 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 106 | pts |
2 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 102 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 89 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 81 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 80 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 76 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 71 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 49 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 48 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus | 47 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 44 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 36 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus | 34 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 32 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 24 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Jan Denuwelaere (Bel) Rendement Hypo Cycling Team | 20 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Tom van den Bosch (Bel) AA Drink Cycling Team | 19 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Christian Heule (Swi) Champion System LBS | 19 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Radomir Simunek Jr. (Cze) BKCP-Powerplus | 16 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team | 16 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Eddy van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 14 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
22 | Petr Dlask (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 14 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
23 | Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike | 14 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
24 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ | 13 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
25 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank | 10 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
26 | Robert Gavenda (Svk) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 9 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
27 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 8 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
28 | Kenneth van Compernolle (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 7 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
29 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Auber 93 | 7 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
30 | Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 6 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
31 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 6 | Row 30 - Cell 3 |
32 | Ben Berden (Bel) Qin Cycling Team | 3 | Row 31 - Cell 3 |
33 | Romain Villa (Fra) | 2 | Row 32 - Cell 3 |
34 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 2 | Row 33 - Cell 3 |
35 | Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned) | 1 | Row 34 - Cell 3 |
1 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 11 | pts |
2 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 7 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 6 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 2 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 2 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 2 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Most Popular
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Tour Down Under return for Australian champions Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Luke Plapp
Three time GC winner Amanda Spratt and three-time stage winner Sam Welsford also among Australian riders embracing chance to race in front of home crowds -
New block pattern unveiled for Lidl-Trek 2025 jerseys
Placement of bold red more prominent in fresh design by Santini -
Alexander Cepeda among trio of riders completing 2025 roster for EF Education-EasyPost
From seven new signings, Alex Baudin expected to be team's 'breakout rider' for new season -
'December will be a long month' - Remco Evenepoel faces a long road to recovery after car door collision
Soudal-QuickStep leader to spend at least a month off the bike, disrupting his winter training and 2025 season debut