Nys beats Pauwels in tumultuous sprint in Koksijde

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The third round of the World Cup in sandy Koksijde, Belgium, ended in a tumultuous sprint between Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) and Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor). Nys was first over the line but Pauwels' gestures showed that he didn't agree with the way the sprint unfolded. Bart Aernouts (Rabobank-Giant - Offroad Team) was third ahead of world champion Zdenek Stybar (Quick Step) in fourth. Pauwels remains the leader in the UCI World Cup, but Nys trails him by only five points.

"I'm very happy with this victory. I had one of my better days of this season," Nys said. The 35-year-old needed a couple of laps to bridge up with the lead group that included Stybar, Pauwels, Aernouts, Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) and French champion Francis Mourey (FDJ).

"My teammate did a great job by closing the gap on the road. I didn't have to make any additional effort," Nys said, heralding the efforts from Sven Vanthourenhout (Landbouwkrediet).

Once at the back of the lead group, Nys showed off his skills in a long, hilly, sandy section during the third lap. Nys choose a different line that seemed worse at first glance, but he simply blasted past everyone. The series of accelerations that followed created a four-man lead group with Nys, Pauwels, Stybar and Aernouts at the halfway point of the race.

For a few laps, this status quo remained, but with three laps to go, Nys punched away on the same sandy passage where he had impressed during the third lap. Pauwels smoothly bridged back up to Nys while Stybar held up Aernouts.

"More was possible for me. I probably shouldn't have been at the back of the group all the time," said Aernouts.

Several attacks from both Nys and Pauwels followed. During the penultimate lap, Nys powered away after Pauwels collided with a barrier. "I thought that was the decisive move for the victory, but I made a mistake. At the world championships, I can't make that mistake again," Nys said.

Roles were reversed about halfway through last lap, when Nys struggled in the long sand section and Pauwels seemed to be heading for the win. "I recovered from that, and we both headed for a sprint with sore legs," Nys said.

A debatable sprint concluded the race. Nys wanted to make sure he took the final corner first going into the asphalt. "It's a short road to the finish, but there was a strong headwind. I entered the corner at high speed and almost went into the barriers. Then I looked back and saw that no damage was done. At that moment Kevin was still behind me, and I opted to ride my sprint on the righthand side of the road. I don't think Kevin was ever next to me. I fought to get the victory, and Kevin had the choice to choose the other side," Nys said.

Pauwels claimed he was riding next to Nys. "I was halfway alongside his bike, maybe a little further back. When exiting the corner, I was immediately next to Nys with my wheel, so I had no other choice but move along to the right," Pauwels said.

Aernouts was a close third due to the poker game between Pauwels and Nys in the last lap. "I was able to see them, but I couldn't tell whether Pauwels was next to Nys or not and that's the key question here. We should've had one of those choppers from the airbase here to show what happened," Aernouts said.

Stybar lost a lot of ground in the final laps. The Czech was fourth at 45 seconds.

Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) missed out in the lead group after a disastrous passage in the sand during the third lap. He was never able to bridge back up but kept the leaders in sight, eventually finishing fifth. Vantornout, Mourey, Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) and Sven Vanthourenhout claimed positions six up to nine. Nicolas Bazin (Big Mat - Auber 93) surprised by cracking the top-10 on a demanding course.

British rider Ian Field (Hargroves Cycles) will be content with his 22nd place while Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus) quickly lost ground during the race and eventually faded to a 32nd place. "What to say, what to say? I need to train more specifically for Koksidje [sic] if I even want to have a chance at top 15 for the world champs. I'm disappointed. Yes. I learned a lot of things that I wouldn't have if I hadn't come over and raced Koksidje [sic]. I knew it wouldn't be easy," Powers tweeted. His compatriot Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) didn't finish the race.

The Nys-Pauwels debates among the 10,000 spectators heated up a chilly Koksijde where the sun was setting at the finish. No doubt the fans of both Pauwels and Nys will have much to talk about this evening.

Tomorrow is another race and undoubtedly the duo will clash again in Gieten, The Netherlands during the fifth leg of the Superprestige Series.

Full Results

World Cup Standings after three rounds