Meeusen surprise winner of Kalmthout World Cup
By Brecht Decaluwé published
Belgian outsprints Nys for biggest win of career, Albert remains atop World Cup standings
Neo-pro Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) netted his first World Cup victory in a fast and tactical race in Kalmthout by beating Belgian champion Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) and Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea) in the sprint finale.
World Cup leader Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) never seemed comfortable in the snow but by limiting his losses and finishing in fifth place the 24-year-old Belgian did more than enough to maintain his lead in the Word Cup.
"It felt great to cross the line this way," Meeusen said. "Last week in Essen was my actual home race but this one comes quite near. Especially when you're finishing it in the sprint against Sven [Nys] as a young lad.
"This is really cool to have this race on my palmares. It's my third win of the season but I didn't expect that I could win a World Cup this year."
Fast starters rewarded on snowy singletrack
The twisting, snow-covered course in Kalmthout made one's start particularly important as it proved to be exceedingly difficult to pass with only one good line for most of the parcours. French champion Francis Mourey (FDJ) profited from that early on as he got the hole shot and opened up a several second lead on the opening lap. Riding second behind Mourey was compatriot Steve Chainel (Bouygues Telecom) who didn't hide which team he's heading in several few weeks. "I protected my second place and didn't go flat out after Mourey," Chainel said of the team tactics.
During the second lap World Cup leader Niels Albert maneuvered past Chainel and halfway through the third lap caught up with Mourey. Meanwhile, Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) crashed and caused a pile-up which greatly benefited the six riders ahead of Vantornout: Mourey, Albert, Meeusen, Nys, Pauwels and Bart Aernouts (Rabobank-Giant Offroad) were the only riders left battling for the win.
From the fourth lap onwards that sextet rode together at the front. Several accelerations and pit stops followed, changing the order of the group but not the gaps between the six riders.
"I always rode in fourth of fifth position, trying to stay out of the picture and see how the others were riding," Meeusen said.
With three laps to go Pauwels, Aernouts and Meeusen profited from an Albert error. Soon afterwards Aernouts dropped his chain when he tried to get past Meeusen. "I told Kevin [Pauwels] to go for it," said Meeusen. "By the way he (Aernouts) was riding he seemed stronger than me and I surely didn't want to help him to the victory at that stage of the race."
Pauwels had a gap but Nys led the chase and brought the sextet back together on the penultimate lap, with Albert most in trouble at the back of the group. Albert eventually got dropped with Aernouts, leaving four riders battling for the win.
And then there were four...
On the snowy, singletrack course being in the lead during the last lap was all important. Nys headed first into the Kalmthout forest ahead of Meeusen, Pauwels and Mourey. The positions remained the same throughout the last lap but Nys didn't gain a single metre on Meeusen.
"I didn't give Nys any distance," Meeusen said. "He often looked back to see if he had a gap and would accelerate. I think he was tired on the last lap and that was the reason I kept on fighting. I rode a perfect last corner and hit the pavement in the right gear."
Nys led out the sprint but Meeusen accelerated around the Belgian champion for the victory, while Pauwels crossed the line in third place two seconds later. "Maybe if the finish line would've been five metres further I could've won," said Nys. "On the other hand my sensations during the race told me that second place was the best result possible."
Mourey settled for fourth, seven seconds behind Meeusen. "I was good but today there were three riders stronger than me," Mourey said.
Albert finished fifth, 30 seconds down on Meeusen, but was happy with the outcome. "On snow and ice this is a good result for me. Now it's time to take a break because I have some hard weeks behind me. I felt that during the closing laps," Albert said.
The US contingent in Kalmthout didn't have a great hour of racing with Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) the top American finisher in 28th place followed by Ryan Trebon (Kona) in 32nd. Both had poor starts and faced difficulty trying to advance.
"There's very little room to move forward," said Page. "If you're lucky and have a good start you can stay there. It's an all-out sprint every time you get to the road but you can only move up two or three spots there."
Trebon ended up in the same situation, riding back in 41st position after one lap. "The start is so important because you can't move up anywhere. It's chaotic at the back. I had to ride into this guy because he kept trying to come inside. I had to teach him a lesson," Trebon said.
1 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 1:02:21 |
2 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | |
3 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:00:02 |
4 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:07 |
5 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:00:30 |
6 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 0:00:39 |
7 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:00:52 |
8 | Radomir Simunek Jr. (Cze) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:00:53 |
9 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:00:54 |
10 | Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 0:01:03 |
11 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:01:08 |
12 | Steve Chainel (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:01:11 |
13 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:01:12 |
14 | Christian Heule (Swi) Champion System LBS | 0:01:15 |
15 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 0:01:19 |
16 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus | |
17 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 0:01:22 |
18 | Eddy van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 0:01:43 |
19 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 0:01:48 |
20 | Mitchell Huenders (Ned) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:01:56 |
21 | Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 0:02:01 |
22 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team | 0:02:10 |
23 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 0:02:17 |
24 | Vladimír Kyzivát (Cze) Johnson Controls Aš Mb | 0:02:23 |
25 | Petr Dlask (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:02:29 |
26 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Van Vliet EBH Elshof | |
27 | John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale | 0:02:33 |
28 | Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike | 0:02:34 |
29 | Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 0:02:49 |
30 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Auber 93 | 0:03:25 |
31 | Marek Cichosz (Pol) Legia-Felt | 0:03:28 |
32 | Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona | 0:03:33 |
33 | Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned) | 0:03:35 |
34 | Guillaume Perrot (Fra) | |
35 | Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa) | 0:03:39 |
36 | Laurent Colombatto (Fra) AC Bisontine | 0:03:53 |
37 | Tommy Nielsen (Den) | 0:03:54 |
38 | David Kášek (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor | 0:03:56 |
39 | Isaac Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | 0:04:03 |
40 | Sacha Weber (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | |
41 | Robert Gavenda (Svk) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:04:18 |
42 | Mik Garrigan (Can) | 0:04:20 |
43 | Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) | 0:04:22 |
44 | René Lang (Swi) | |
45 | Keiichi Tsujiura | 0:04:23 |
46 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 0:04:32 |
47 | Marco Ponta (Ita) | 0:04:37 |
48 | Johannes Sickmüller (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 0:04:42 |
49 | Joachim Parbo (Den) Kch Leopard Cycles | 0:04:48 |
50 | Gusty Bausch (Lux) | 0:05:00 |
51 | Roy Van Heeswijk (Ned) ZZPR.nl | 0:05:01 |
52 | Magnus Darvell (Swe) | 0:05:10 |
53 | Sean Babcock (USA) Kona | 0:05:16 |
54 | Yu Takenouchi (Jpn) | 0:05:28 |
55 | Romain Villa (Fra) | 0:05:47 |
56 | Florian Le Corre (Fra) Flers Cyclisme 61 | 0:06:09 |
57 | Paul Voss (Ger) Milram | 0:06:31 |
58 | Brian Matter (USA) Gear Grinder | -1lap |
59 | Mark Lalonde (USA) Specialized | |
60 | Antonio Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | |
61 | Lukas Winterberg (Swi) | |
62 | Craig Richey (Can) Cyclocrossracing.Com p/b Blue | |
63 | Ryan Knapp (USA) BikeReg.com | -3laps |
64 | Fabio Ursi (Ita) Buergi | |
65 | Shaun Adamson (Can) Cycle-Smart | -4laps |
66 | Alberto Candelas Caballero (Spa) | -6laps |
1 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 350 | pts |
2 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 301 | |
3 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 299 | |
4 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ | 290 | |
5 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 243 | |
6 | Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 230 | |
7 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 229 | |
8 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 229 | |
9 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 210 | |
10 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus | 207 | |
11 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus | 187 | |
12 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 180 | |
13 | Eddy van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 177 | |
14 | Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 168 | |
15 | Christian Heule (Swi) Champion System LBS | 164 | |
16 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 155 | |
17 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team | 154 | |
18 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 153 | |
19 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Auber 93 | 143 | |
20 | Radomir Simunek Jr. (Cze) BKCP-Powerplus | 129 | |
21 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 124 | |
22 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 119 | |
23 | Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa) | 119 | |
24 | Steve Chainel (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 110 | |
25 | Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 101 | |
26 | Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned) | 101 | |
27 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Van Vliet EBH Elshof | 96 | |
28 | Mitchell Huenders (Ned) BKCP-Powerplus | 93 | |
29 | Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike | 90 | |
30 | Petr Dlask (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 88 | |
31 | Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 85 | |
32 | Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 82 | |
33 | Johannes Sickmüller (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 82 | |
34 | David Kášek (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor | 65 | |
35 | Sacha Weber (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 59 | |
36 | Vladimír Kyzivát (Cze) Johnson Controls Aš Mb | 57 | |
37 | Ondrej Bambula (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor | 56 | |
38 | Robert Gavenda (Svk) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 56 | |
39 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 55 | |
40 | John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale | 53 | |
41 | Romain Villa (Fra) | 53 | |
42 | Fabio Ursi (Ita) Buergi | 47 | |
43 | Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com | 43 | |
44 | Jirí Polnický (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 41 | |
45 | Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) | 39 | |
46 | Guillaume Perrot (Fra) | 39 | |
47 | Laurent Colombatto (Fra) AC Bisontine | 39 | |
48 | Isaac Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | 38 | |
49 | Pirmin Lang (Swi) Buergi | 37 | |
50 | Marek Cichosz (Pol) Legia-Felt | 35 | |
51 | Jeremy Powers (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com | 31 | |
52 | Jérome Chevallier (Fra) AC Bisontine | 30 | |
53 | Joachim Parbo (Den) Kch Leopard Cycles | 29 | |
54 | James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com | 27 | |
55 | Marco Ponta (Ita) | 27 | |
56 | Tijmen Eising (Ned) Sunweb-Revor | 26 | |
57 | Karel Hník (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 22 | |
58 | David Lozano Riba (Spa) | 21 | |
59 | Tommy Nielsen (Den) | 21 | |
60 | Daniel Ruiz Echeandia (Spa) | 20 | |
61 | Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona | 19 | |
62 | Kenneth Hansen (Den) | 19 | |
63 | Florian Le Corre (Fra) Flers Cyclisme 61 | 19 | |
64 | Geert van der Horst (Ned) | 18 | |
65 | Mauro Gonzalez Fontan (Spa) | 17 | |
66 | Wilant van Gils (Ned) CX Nederland | 17 | |
67 | Mik Garrigan (Can) | 17 | |
68 | Erlantz Uriarte Okamika (Spa) | 16 | |
69 | David Juarez Alday (Spa) | 15 | |
70 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 13 | |
71 | René Lang (Swi) | 12 | |
72 | Václav Metlicka (Svk) Johnson Controls Aš Mb | 11 | |
73 | Milan Barenyi (Svk) | 10 | |
74 | Michael Schweizer (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 7 | |
75 | Keiichi Tsujiura (Jpn) | 6 | |
76 | Martin Haring (Svk) CK Banská Bystrica | 6 | |
77 | Mirko Tabacchi (Ita) | 6 | |
78 | Craig Richey (Can) Cyclocrossracing.Com p/b Blue | 4 | |
79 | David van der Poel (Ned) BKCP-Powerplus | 3 | |
80 | Rene Birkenfeld (Ger) Harvesterhude Rv | 2 | |
81 | Robert Glajza (Svk) BKP | 2 | |
82 | Gusty Bausch (Lux) | 1 | |
83 | Xabier Garcia Irazola (Spa) | 1 |

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