Van der Haar sprints to victory at Zolder World Cup

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An aggressive racing style and fast finish resulted in a well-deserved victory for Dutch champion Lars van der Haar (Rabobank Development Team) at the fifth World Cup round in Zolder, Belgium. Czechs Martin Bina (Kwadro-Stannah Cycling Team) and Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) placed second and third respectively in the sprint finale from a 13-man lead group which fractured slightly in the last lap finale.

It's the third World Cup victory of the season for Van der Haar and the Dutch champion has moved into a comfortable overall lead as closest rivals Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus) and Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) only managed a fourth and thirteenth place at the car racing circuit of Terlaemen. Van der Haar leads Walsleben by 33 points, while Belgian champion Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) moved into third at 279 points, 58 down on the Dutchman.

"What made the difference? Tactics," Van der Haar told Sporza. "The men's U23 race showed that it would be tactical. I just stayed in a good position constantly. We still have to do the rounds in Rome and Nommay but I will try to win it now. I'll try to do everything to take the World Cup home [at the final round] in Nommay."

The young Dutchman, only 22 years old, never rode outside of the top-5 throughout the race and often led the pack. With an average speed of 28.1 km/h it was hard to create gaps but due to the pace-setting work of Van der Haar it was nearly impossible for riders to get back to the front once dropped.

"It was possible to finish on the podium today, but also to finish tenth" said Vantornout. "This isn't ‘cross but a criterium." Vantornout consistently rode in the top-5 as well but in contrast to his usual racing style avoided the lead. In the final sprint he lost some spots and finished seventh.

The usual protagonists Sven Nys (Crelan-KDL) and Niels Albert never made it into the top-5. Albert's race was ruined when he took the inside line at the first corner - 180 degrees around a pole - and crashed. Now nearly in last place just moments after the start, Albert tried a comeback like the one Nys did in Namur in Sunday. He clocked very consistent sub-seven minute lap times and eventually bridged up to the lead group at the end of the penultimate lap. Making up positions in that lead group proved impossible, however, and a frustrated Albert rolled across the line 29 seconds down on winner Van der Haar.

Nys, the defending champion at the Heusden-Zolder World Cup race, also had a lackluster start and took half the race to reach the leaders. Once there the world champion lacked the punch to move up in the large lead group, hitting the final lap in seventh place. In the sprint he passed Vantornout to grab an anonymous sixth place result

Czech champion Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) made the best of his short cyclo-cross season and frequently shared the hard pacing-making work with Van der Haar. At the often decisive uphill off-camber zone Stybar took the lead on the final lap but Van der Haar passed him again when approaching the difficult run-up sector. That's where the race was decided in a split second very close to the finish line.

"I knew I had to be in a good position at the stairs and did everything for that," Van der Haar said. The Dutchman was quick to re-mount after the stair sector and opened an ever so slight gap on Stybar, who fumbled with his pedals.

Stybar blamed his rusty technical skills for his defeat. "I often lost time in the corners. After the stairs I didn't get into my pedals and Van der Haar got a gap of 10-20 metres. Bina passed me, too, and that was it," Stybar said.

Bina reached Van der Haar before the final corner but had no answer for Van der Haar's fast finish after making the right turn onto the asphalt finishing straight. In the sprint the diminutive Dutchman comfortably won ahead of Bina, Stybar and Walsleben.

Rob Peeters (Telenet-Fidea) was the best Belgian in fifth place. "I've never been the best Belgian in a World Cup. I could cry out of happiness. A few times I was lucky that I was piloted back to the front on the wheel of Stybar," Peeters said.

Most top riders will race on Friday in Loenhout, except for Van der Haar. The Dutchman has opted not to pack his program with races during the Christmas week in order to remain fresh for the championships in the following weeks. His next races are Diegem, Surhuisterveen and then the next World Cup round in Rome on January 5 of the new year.