Pauwels repeats at Tabor with solo victory
Van der Haar outsprints Albert for 2nd
Last year's World Cup champion Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor) commenced his new World Cup campaign with a convincing win in Tábor, Czech Republic. Just as he did last year at the Tábor round, one the Belgian's four World Cup triumphs the prior season, Pauwels rode away from his rivals in the closing laps to notch a solo victory.
Near the end of the seventh of nine laps Pauwels made his move, separating himself from the four-man lead group containing teammate Klaas Vantornout, world champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) and young Dutch phenom Lars van der Haar (Rabobank-Giant Off-road Team). Vantornout played his team role to perfection as the Sunweb-Revor riders rode 1-2 at the front and Vantornout let a gap grow to Pauwels which neither Albert nor van der Haar could close.
"This time it took longer," Pauwels said, comparing this victory to last year's solo win in Tabor. "Earlier I was unable to drop Niels. Thanks to Klaas, who played team tactics, I received a couple of metres. That was enough. It was hard but it worked out well."
On the final lap Albert and van der Haar dropped Vantornout with the young Dutchman winning the sprint for second against Albert, a fine performance for the 21-year-old Rabobank-Giant rider's first World Cup in the elite ranks.
"I can't believe it. I didn't expect it to go so fast. Last night I dreamed of a top-5 result, now I know that I can get somewhere in this sport," van der Haar said after his second place performance in Tábor. "This course suits me to perfection. I'm going really well and I'm technically good so in these corners they couldn't drop me."
Van der Haar was pragmatic about the Sunweb-Revor team tactics which prevented a potential sprint for victory. "That's racing, I understand them. It's part of the race but it's not fun," said van der Haar.
Vantornout finished alone in fourth place, 27 seconds behind Pauwels, while Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony) finished a frustrating fifth place eight seconds later, yet still a remarkable result considering his early misfortune. The Belgian champion rode dominantly at the front of the pack but then his chain snapped at the beginning of the third lap. "Suddenly I was kicking in the air," Nys said.
After Nys got a new bike from the pits he found himself in 22nd place, more than 40 seconds behind the leaders, and he set to work with a lengthy pursuit. "At first I thought that I would be able to join the large chase group behind the leaders and then aim for a last-lap effort," said Nys. "Once I bridged up to them I was able to continue. I had a very good day."
Eight seconds behind Nys, Bart Aernouts (AA Drink) won the sprint for sixth place ahead of U.S. champion Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus), Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea), Twan van den Brand and Simon Zahner. After his career best World Cup result in Plzen last year, a 10th place finish, Powers showed a lot of improvement in Tábor. During the second half of the race Powers moved up in the large chase group and started setting the pace.
Powers's result is the best-ever World Cup finish from an American in the elite men's ranks, an honor previously held by Jonathan Page with eighth place finishes at Igorre and Hoogerheide in the 2009-2010 season.
Local rider Radomir Simunek (BKCP-Powerplus) rode in the lead group during the first half of the race, then rode alone in fifth place for a long time but in the closing laps he ran out of steam. Simunek ultimately finished in 11th place, 54 seconds behind Pauwels.
1 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 1:04:58 | |
2 | Lars van der Haar (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team | 0:00:14 | |
3 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:00:16 | |
4 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 0:00:27 | |
5 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | 0:00:35 | |
6 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) AA Drink Cyclocross Team | 0:00:43 | |
7 | Jeremy Powers (USA) Rapha-Focus | 0:00:45 | |
8 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 0:00:46 | |
9 | Twan van den Brand (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | ||
10 | Simon Zahner (Swi) EKZ Racing Team | 0:00:54 | |
11 | Radomir Simunek (Cze) BKCP - Powerplus | ||
12 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 0:00:55 | |
13 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 0:01:21 | |
14 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 0:01:35 | |
15 | Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cyclocross Team | 0:01:44 | |
16 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team | 0:01:45 | |
17 | Jirí Polnický (Cze) Whirlpool - Author | ||
18 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:01:49 | |
19 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:01:56 | |
20 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:02:07 | |
21 | Martin Bina (Cze) CEZ Cyklo Team Tábor | 0:02:13 | |
22 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:02:14 | |
23 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Selle Italia-Guerciotti-Elite | 0:02:15 | |
24 | Marcel Meisen (Ger) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:02:16 | |
25 | Gerben de Knegt (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 0:02:19 | |
26 | Arnaud Grand (Swi) Telenet - Fidea | 0:02:20 | |
27 | Guillaume Perrot (Fra) | 0:02:25 | |
28 | Thijs Al (Ned) Telenet - Fidea | 0:02:30 | |
29 | Jonathan Page (USA) | 0:02:44 | |
30 | Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld | ||
31 | Lubomir Petrus (Cze) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:02:45 | |
32 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles-Specialized | 0:02:52 | |
33 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco | 0:02:54 | |
34 | Micky van Empel (Ned) Landbouwkrediet-KDL | 0:03:01 | |
35 | Vladimír Kyzivát (Cze) Johnson Controls TJ Auto Škoda | 0:03:17 | |
36 | Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa) Grupo Hiremet Taldea | 0:03:30 | |
37 | Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 0:03:38 | |
38 | Marco Ponta (Ita) Centro Sportivo | 0:03:39 | |
39 | Elia Silvestri (Ita) Selle Italia-Guerciotti-Elite | 0:03:47 | |
40 | David Kášek (Cze) CEZ Cyklo Team Tábor | 0:03:51 | |
41 | Cristian Cominelli (Ita) Team Idea | 0:03:52 | |
42 | Mirko Tabacchi (Ita) | 0:04:33 | |
43 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | 0:04:38 | |
44 | Ondrej Bambula (Cze) CEZ Cyklo Team Tábor | 0:04:43 | |
45 | Martin Haring (Svk) CK Banská Bystrica | 0:05:17 | |
46 | Vaclav Metlicka (Svk) Johnson Controls TJ Auto Škoda | 0:06:12 | |
47 | Arnaud Jouffroy (Fra) Telenet - Fidea | 0:06:21 | |
48 | Lukas Winterberg (Swi) Team Müller Gartengestaltung/BH Bikes | 0:06:40 | |
49 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | -1lap | |
50 | Milan Barenyi (Svk) | ||
51 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Auber 93 | -2laps | |
52 | Andrea Masciarelli (Ita) | -3laps | |
DNF | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | ||
DSQ | Petr Dlask (Cze) Madeta - Fitness / Specialized |
1 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 80 | pts |
2 | Lars van der Haar (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team | 70 | |
3 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus | 65 | |
4 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 60 | |
5 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | 55 | |
6 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) AA Drink Cyclocross Team | 50 | |
7 | Jeremy Powers (USA) Rapha-Focus | 48 | |
8 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 46 | |
9 | Twan van den Brand (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 44 | |
10 | Simon Zahner (Swi) EKZ Racing Team | 42 | |
11 | Radomir Simunek (Cze) BKCP - Powerplus | 40 | |
12 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team | 39 | |
13 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 38 | |
14 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 37 | |
15 | Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cyclocross Team | 36 | |
16 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team | 35 | |
17 | Jirí Polnický (Cze) Whirlpool - Author | 34 | |
18 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 33 | |
19 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus | 32 | |
20 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 31 | |
21 | Martin Bina (Cze) CEZ Cyklo Team Tábor | 30 | |
22 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP - Powerplus | 29 | |
23 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Selle Italia-Guerciotti-Elite | 28 | |
24 | Marcel Meisen (Ger) BKCP - Powerplus | 27 | |
25 | Gerben de Knegt (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 26 | |
26 | Arnaud Grand (Swi) Telenet - Fidea | 25 | |
27 | Guillaume Perrot (Fra) | 24 | |
28 | Thijs Al (Ned) Telenet - Fidea | 23 | |
29 | Jonathan Page (USA) | 22 | |
30 | Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld | 21 | |
31 | Lubomir Petrus (Cze) BKCP - Powerplus | 20 | |
32 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles-Specialized | 19 | |
33 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco | 18 | |
34 | Micky van Empel (Ned) Landbouwkrediet-KDL | 17 | |
35 | Vladimír Kyzivát (Cze) Johnson Controls TJ Auto Škoda | 16 | |
36 | Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa) Grupo Hiremet Taldea | 15 | |
37 | Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 14 | |
38 | Marco Ponta (Ita) Centro Sportivo | 13 | |
39 | Elia Silvestri (Ita) Selle Italia-Guerciotti-Elite | 12 | |
40 | David Kášek (Cze) CEZ Cyklo Team Tábor | 11 | |
41 | Cristian Cominelli (Ita) Team Idea | 10 | |
42 | Mirko Tabacchi (Ita) | 9 | |
43 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Cyclingteam De Rijke-Shanks | 8 | |
44 | Ondrej Bambula (Cze) CEZ Cyklo Team Tábor | 7 | |
45 | Martin Haring (Svk) CK Banská Bystrica | 6 | |
46 | Vaclav Metlicka (Svk) Johnson Controls TJ Auto Škoda | 5 | |
47 | Arnaud Jouffroy (Fra) Telenet - Fidea | 4 | |
48 | Lukas Winterberg (Swi) Team Müller Gartengestaltung/BH Bikes | 3 | |
49 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 2 | |
50 | Milan Barenyi (Svk) | 1 |
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Julian Alaphilippe: Strade Bianche deserves to be a Monument
'The best way to honour the rainbow jersey is to stay true to my style of racing' says world champion -
Wout van Aert: Strade Bianche is one of the strongest fields of the year
Belgian recons Tuscan gravel ahead of season debut at Saturday's race -
2021 Strade Bianche Women - Start list
Provisional starters as of March 4, 2021 -
Ribble reshapes Ultra Tri triathlon bike for disc brakes
Among other tweaks, disc brake calipers are now an option on Ribble’s Ultra Tri triathlon bike
Sign up to the Cyclingnews Newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how to do this, and how we hold your data, please see our privacy policy
Thank you for signing up to Cycling News. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.