Wyman conquers the Koppenberg

British champion Helen Wyman (Kona) grabbed the biggest win of her career in the Koppenbergcross on Monday afternoon. The 29-year-old dealt best with the mud on the famous helling and held off the young Belgian champion Sanne Cant (BKCP-Powerplus) in an exciting mudfight. The battle for third place was won by Sanne van Paassen (Brainwash) ahead of her Dutch compatriot Daphny van den Brand (ZZPR.nl). Van Paassen remains in the lead in the general classification of the Gazet van Antwerpen Trophy.

“It's unreal,” a delighted Wyman said after the race. “It took me six years but I finally won a race in Belgium and what a race it is. All the history of this climb makes it so special to win here. I'm standing here with a cobble and I think I'll charge people if they want to touch it,” Wyman joked. “Today was really gevaarlijk,” Wyman mixed in a Dutch word to describe how dangerous it was to plough a way through the mud.

The conditions up and around the Koppenberg made it a very hard course. Even though the rain showers stayed away, the fields were packed with extremely slippery mud. Wyman, Cant, Sophie de Boer, Pavla Havlikova and Van Paassen had the best start but the latter crashed several times and quickly disappeared from the front.

While still climbing the meadow on top of the Koppenberg, Wyman pushed through and only Cant was able to follow. On the descent, the small Belgian woman slid better through the mud but after one lap the duo passed the line together half a minute before Dutch women Van den Brand and De Boer.

The decisive moment came halfway the race when Cant ran into a mechanical problem. “A rock got stuck between my rear wheel and my frame just before riding on the road. I had to work very hard to keep moving forward but just before hitting the Koppenberg climb I had to stop and remove it. Of course Helen attacked and she was gone; she was lucky,” Cant told Cyclingnews.

Wyman quickly gathered twenty seconds with only one and a half laps remaining. On the downhill section, Cant took many risks and the Belgian champion crashed once. With one lap to go the gap was up to half a minute, while Van den Brand followed at no less than one minute and twenty seconds; Van Paassen was fourth at almost two minutes.

During the last lap Wyman avoided all risks and on the downhill Cant got back to fifteen seconds. “I know but I thought: she's not going to catch me if I stay upright,” Wyman said, explaining her tactics. It proved to be the correct course of action because even though Cant came close, it wasn't enough to keep Wyman from her most beautiful win ever. “I had to try because if she crashed I still had a chance,” Cant said.

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Full Results
1Helen Wyman (GBr) Kona0:45:14
2Sanne Cant (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus0:00:33
3Sanne van Paassen (Ned) BrainWash0:01:55
4Daphny van den Brand (Ned) ZZPR.nl-Destil0:02:37
5Sophie De Boer (Ned) ZZPR.nl-Destil0:03:25
6Joyce Vanderbeken (Bel)0:04:48
7Reza Hormes-Ravenstijn (Ned)0:05:24
8Nikki Harris (GBr)0:06:01
9Nancy Bober (Bel)0:06:18
10Arenda Grimberg (Ned)0:06:40
11Pavla Havlikova (Cze)0:06:47
12Christine Vardaros (USA) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team0:07:09
13Gabriella Day (GBr) The ChainStay-RENNER0:07:26
14Sabrina Stultiens (Ned)0:08:00
15Linda van Rijen (Ned)0:10:11
16Helena van Leijen (Ned)0:10:37
17Nicole De Bie - Leyten (Bel)-1lap
18Katrien Thijs (Bel)Row 17 - Cell 2
19Ellen Van Loy (Bel)Row 18 - Cell 2
20Nikoline Hansen (Den)Row 19 - Cell 2
21Anja Geldhof (Bel)Row 20 - Cell 2
22Anja Nobus (Bel)Row 21 - Cell 2
23Laura Lepasalu (Est)Row 22 - Cell 2
24Lana Verberne (Ned)-2laps
25Lija Laizane (Lat)Row 24 - Cell 2
26Nathalie Nijns (Bel)Row 25 - Cell 2
27Gertie Willems (Bel)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Marijke De Pauw (Bel)Row 27 - Cell 2
29Madara Furmane (Lat)Row 28 - Cell 2
30Sharon Defoor (Bel)-3laps
31Maaike Lanssens (Bel)Row 30 - Cell 2
32Liga Šmite (Lat)Row 31 - Cell 2
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Gazet van Antwerpen Trofee classification after 2 rounds
1Sanne van Paassen (Ned) BrainWash44pts
2Helen Wyman (GBr) Kona41Row 1 - Cell 3
3Sanne Cant (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus41Row 2 - Cell 3
4Daphny van den Brand (Ned) ZZPR.nl-Destil39Row 3 - Cell 3
5Sophie De Boer (Ned) ZZPR.nl-Destil31Row 4 - Cell 3
6Pavla Havlikova (Cze)27Row 5 - Cell 3
7Reza Hormes-Ravenstijn (Ned)27Row 6 - Cell 3
8Nikki Harris (GBr)25Row 7 - Cell 3
9Nancy Bober (Bel)23Row 8 - Cell 3
10Joyce Vanderbeken (Bel)23Row 9 - Cell 3
11Arenda Grimberg (Ned)21Row 10 - Cell 3
12Linda van Rijen (Ned)20Row 11 - Cell 3
13Sabrina Stultiens (Ned)13Row 12 - Cell 3
14Christine Vardaros (USA) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team13Row 13 - Cell 3
15Martina Zwick (Ger)9Row 14 - Cell 3
16Gabriella Day (GBr) The ChainStay-RENNER8Row 15 - Cell 3
17Jasmin Achermann (Swi) Fischer-BMC7Row 16 - Cell 3
18Ellen Van Loy (Bel)7Row 17 - Cell 3
19Helena van Leijen (Ned)5Row 18 - Cell 3
20Nicole De Bie - Leyten (Bel)4Row 19 - Cell 3
21Nathalie Nijns (Bel)3Row 20 - Cell 3
22Katrien Thijs (Bel)3Row 21 - Cell 3
23Ilona Meter (Ned)2Row 22 - Cell 3
24Anja Geldhof (Bel)1Row 23 - Cell 3
25Nikoline Hansen (Den)1Row 24 - Cell 3

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