Nys powers to victory at Scheldecross
Meeusen claims second, Dieter Vanthourenhout third
















While Sven Nys had his chance at a Scheldecross victory in 2010 ruined by a last-lap mechanical, this year everything went his way as he soloed to victory in Antwerp.
With two laps to go the contenders for victory had been reduced to three, with Nys accompanied by Telenet-Fidea teammates Tom Meeusen and Rob Peeters in the race lead. Nys, however, took advantage of his considerable power and bike handling skills to ride away from the Telenet-Fidea duo on a lengthy sand section. Heading into the final lap Nys held a five second lead over Meeusen and a 12-second margin on Peeters.
While Meeusen narrowed the gap to Nys on the wide-open sections of grass and asphalt, Nys continued to apply pressure in the sand to keep Meeusen at bay. Nys took no chances on the final lap, choosing to dismount and run the barriers rather than bunny-hop them as he had done all race, and crossed the finish line alone to claim Scheldecross for the third time in his career.
Meeusen followed in second place at eight seconds while Dieter Vanthourenhout (BKCP-Powerplus) passed Peeters on the final lap to claim third, 14 seconds behind Nys. Vanthourenhout finished in fourth eight second later.
Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor), the top-ranked 'cross rider in the world on the most recent UCI standings, crashed and wasn't a factor in the race, ultimately recovering to finish fifth.
1 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 0:58:03 |
2 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea | 0:00:08 |
3 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:00:14 |
4 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea | 0:00:22 |
5 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 0:00:37 |
6 | Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 0:01:08 |
7 | Lars van der Haar (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team | 0:01:10 |
8 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team | 0:01:11 |
9 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 0:01:42 |
10 | Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 0:01:46 |
11 | Thijs Al (Ned) Team AA Drink-Leontien.nl | 0:01:51 |
12 | Martin Zlamalik (Cze) Landbouwkrediet - KDL | 0:01:55 |
13 | Kenneth Van Compernolle (Bel) Style & Concept Cycling Team | 0:01:58 |
14 | Wietse Bosmans (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:02:04 |
15 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco | 0:02:14 |
16 | Jim Aernouts (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 0:02:23 |
17 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team | 0:02:35 |
18 | Tom Van Den Bosch (Bel) Team AA Drink-Leontien.nl | 0:02:44 |
19 | Arnaud Grand (Swi) Telenet-Fidea | 0:02:51 |
20 | Diether Sweeck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - KDL | 0:02:57 |
21 | Kevin Cant (Bel) Van Goethem | 0:03:05 |
22 | Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike-Blue Bicycles | 0:03:11 |
23 | Floris De Tier (Bel) Baboco | 0:03:35 |
24 | Marco Bianco (Ita) L´Arcobaleno Carraro Team | 0:03:42 |
25 | Dave De Cleyn (Bel) | 0:03:47 |
26 | Jens Adams (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:03:58 |
27 | Sven Beelen (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 0:04:25 |
28 | Tijmen Eising (Ned) Sunweb-Revor | 0:04:49 |
29 | Dries Pauwels (Bel) Van Goethem - Prorace Cycling Team | 0:04:55 |
30 | Igor Smarzano (Ita) | 0:05:15 |
31 | Eddy Van IJzendoorn (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 0:05:57 |
32 | Dany Lacroix (Bel) | 0:06:49 |
33 | Stijn Mortelmans (Bel) Palmans | 0:07:16 |
34 | Jeremy Durrin (USA) J.A.M. Fund - NCC | -1lap |
35 | Kiernan Orange (Can) Ride with Rendall | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
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