Danish dynamite Andreassen blows away Iserbyt

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Danish supertalent Simon Andreassen blew away the opposition in the junior men’s category at the Tábor cyclo-cross World Championships on Saturday morning. The current mountain bike world champion added a second world title to his tally in the Czech Republic. Andreassen rode away from pre-race favourite Eli Iserbyt (Belgium) during the second of five laps on a very technical course. Iserbyt finished as runner-up ahead of Max Gulickx (Netherlands). Gage Hecht (USA) was an unlucky fourth.

“It was just great. The whole race was perfect,” Andreassen said in the post-race interview. “It was more technical so I could use my technique from mountain biking. I’m very happy.”

During the first half of the opening lap Andreassen wasn’t featuring in front where Iserbyt tried to deploy his usual tactic of a blistering start. That proved unsuccessful, as both Jappe Jaspers (Belgium) and Gulickx were able to keep up with him. At the barriers Andreassen surged to the front. The Dane hopped the barriers and made good use of the momentum, briefly taking the lead. “I had a very good start from the second row. Then I moved up to second place. Then I just wanted to be in first position,” Andreassen said. The Danish powerhouse set a fierce pace and only Iserbyt and Gulickx were able to keep up. By the end of the opening lap the three leaders had a small gap over Gage Hecht and Johan Jacobs (Switzerland).

During the second lap Gulickx faded, after slipping away a couple of times, leaving only two riders in front. Also Iserbyt was struggling to gain traction on the slippery course. The frozen upper layer was quickly changing into slippery mud. Nevertheless he managed to hold the wheel of Andreassen until he made a mistake just before the end of the second lap. Iserbyt was suddenly dropped after the downhill towards the pit area and the finishing straight.

The Belgian rider switched bikes but those turned out not to be equipped with the desired Rhino tyres which offer more grip than his Grifo tyres. “In the second lap I passed him. I made no mistakes. Then I opened up a little gap. I just ride safe. The gaps just got bigger,” Andreassen said. From there the Dane rode three more fast lap times, riding flawlessly over the Tábor course. “I could only hear the speaker. I knew they were not coming closer to me. I was just trying to focus on myself.” Andreassen had a gap of 9 seconds on Iserbyt, with Hecht and Gulickx following at short distance.

While the solo ride from Andreassen was very impressive the battle for the medals proved to be very exciting too. The pit crew from Iserbyt had to get his Rhino tyres from the camper, causing the Belgian to be passed by Gulickx and Hecht. After the third lap Andreassen already had 37 seconds on Gulickx and Hecht, and 44s on Iserbyt. During the penultimate lap Iserbyt bridged back up with Gulickx and Hecht. The trio was battling for two remaining medals at 41 seconds from the Danish leader when hitting the final lap. The positions changed a couple of times. First Gulickx led the group, then Hecht, briefly rode in second position before Iserbyt took over and rode away.

Gulickx lost some ground on Hecht in the battle for bronze shortly before the finish but he managed to get back on Hecht before the final corner. In that final corner Hecht dropped his chain and didn’t get the chance to sprint for the bronze medal. By that time Andreassen had already crossed the line. In one hand he was waving the Danish flag and with the other hand he kept control of his bike, trying a wheelie. It’s not the only reference Andreassen has with Peter Sagan. The Slovakian rider was also a MTB world champion in the junior men's category before finishing as runner-up at the 2008 cyclo-cross World Championships.

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