Nys comes out strong in season opener

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Belgian national champion Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) won the first international cyclo-cross race of the European season in Erpe Mere, with a blistering sprint on the uphill finish.

Nys beat Bart Aernouts (Rabo-Giant Offroad Team) in the sprint, with Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea) completing the podium of the Steenbergcross race, 1 seconds down.

With conditions in Belgium dry, the race was extremely fast and Nys attacked during the second lap and only Klaas Vantornout and Bart Aernouts were able to go after him. Vantornout tried his own attack but went out of contention due to a mechanical problem.

Nys and Aernouts stayed away to fight out the sprint on the uphill finish but Nys was far faster and took his fifth victory in the Belgian season-opener.

World champion Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) delayed his season debut until next weekend but Nys already seems the biggest threat to his dominance of the off-road winter.

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