Pauwels outsprints Stybar in Zolder
Nys collects third place following a crash
Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor) beat world champion Zdenek Stybar (Quick Step Team) in a two-man sprint at the end of the sixth round of the World Cup in Zolder, Belgium, on Monday. Thanks to his third World Cup victory of the year, Pauwels overtook Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) as leader in the cyclo-cross World Cup.
"I knew that my form was good, but [before this weekend] I hadn't been on the podium for a few weeks," Pauwels said.
The final sprint started right after Stybar exited the muddy stretch next to the car racing circuit in Zolder. Nys was part of the lead group that headed for the sprint, too, but the experienced Belgian - wearing number 13 - slid out in the last corner. "It's a pity because I still had power for the sprint. I switched bikes in the last lap to have an 11 on the big ring for the sprint, just like I did in the first lap. I'll have to keep fighting until the last World Cup round," Nys said.
As Nys hit the deck when cornering on to the start-finish road, it was Pauwels who was glued Stybar's wheel. "Stybar started the sprint right away, so I had no other option then going full gas. I went deep in the sprint, but I had something left in my tank," Pauwels said.
Stybar was going full gas, but he didn't succeed in shaking off Pauwels. A clearly frustrated Stybar hit his handlebars when crossing the line.
"Of course, I would've loved to win but on Friday in Diegem, I was eighth and not feeling well, and now I was just sprinting for the victory, so I can't complain," Stybar said.
A not particularly spectacular second half of the race preceded the final sprint. The lead group with Nys, Pauwels and Stybar was formed during the fourth of nine laps. Mistakes at the back of the initially larger lead group cost Lars Boom (Rabobank), Steve Chainel (FDJ) and Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) their spots up front.
In the main chase group, national champions Boom and Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) provided most of the opposition, but halfway through the race, they were trailing the leaders by 15 seconds - too much to overcome on the muddy but fast course in Zolder.
The three leaders tested their legs on the muddy off-camber climb and the steep run-up, but none of these punches caused major damage. "The 'cross wasn't really that hard. Sometimes it was full gas, but then the pace dropped again; it was interval training. I expected that the group would explode in the last lap, on the climb or on the descent, but that didn't happen," Pauwels said.
Nys salvaged his podium spot and half a minute behind Pauwels, it was his teammate Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) who was best of the rest. Vantornout out sprinted Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) and Wellens. Last year's winner Boom was seventh at 48 seconds. "I'm happy. Yesterday I trained three and a half hours, and I felt that a bit today. I made one mistake that probably cost me a podium spot," a mud-clad Boom told Cyclingnews at the finish line.
Albert, Chainel and Radomir Simunek (BKCP-Powerplus) completed the top-10, all finishing within one minute of winner Pauwels.
Jonathan Page (Planetbike) finished 25th at nearly two minutes from Pauwels. Timothy Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) finished a disappointing 37th place. British rider Ian Field (Hargroves Cycles) was three spots behind Johnson.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb - Revor | 1:03:44 |
2 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quickstep Cycling Team | |
3 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 0:00:20 |
4 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb - Revor | 0:00:32 |
5 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 0:00:35 |
6 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 0:00:38 |
7 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 0:00:48 |
8 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:00:56 |
9 | Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:59 |
10 | Radomir Simunek (Cze) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:01:00 |
11 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:01:04 |
12 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB - Racing | 0:01:06 |
13 | Simon Zahner (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:08 |
14 | Aurelien Duval (Fra) | 0:01:15 |
15 | Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink - Leontien.nl Cycling Team | 0:01:21 |
16 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:01:23 |
17 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Cyclingteam De Rijke | |
18 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:01:24 |
19 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco Cycling Team | |
20 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:01:26 |
21 | Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink - Leontien.nl Cycling Team | |
22 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 0:01:27 |
23 | Marcel Meisen (Ger) | 0:01:28 |
24 | Martin Zlamalik (Cze) KDL Trans | 0:01:50 |
25 | Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike | 0:01:57 |
26 | Twan Van Den Brand (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 0:02:05 |
27 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:02:06 |
28 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 0:02:23 |
29 | Christian Heule (Swi) Cannondale / Cyclocrossworld.Com | 0:02:27 |
30 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Selle Italia Guerciotti | 0:02:30 |
31 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 0:02:37 |
32 | Tijmen Eising (Ned) Sunweb - Revor | 0:02:50 |
33 | Elia Silvestri (Ita) Selle Italia Guerciotti | 0:02:52 |
34 | Karel Hnik (Cze) Telenet - Fidea | 0:02:54 |
35 | Cristian Cominelli (Ita) Tx Active Bianchi | 0:02:58 |
36 | Jiri Polnicky (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 0:03:09 |
37 | Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale / Cyclocrossworld.Com | 0:03:15 |
38 | Vladimir Kyzivat (Cze) | 0:03:34 |
39 | Mitchell Huenders (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels | 0:03:57 |
40 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 0:04:06 |
41 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 0:04:26 |
42 | Arnaud Grand (Swi) Telenet - Fidea | 0:04:30 |
43 | Sascha Weber (Ger) Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.De | 0:04:49 |
44 | David Kasek (Cze) | 0:04:52 |
45 | Mirko Tabacchi (Ita) | 0:05:05 |
46 | Yannick Mayer (Ger) Team NSP | 0:05:11 |
47 | Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa) | 0:05:38 |
48 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Big Mat - Auber 93 | 0:05:44 |
49 | Arnaud Jouffroy (Fra) Telenet - Fidea | 0:06:25 |
-2laps | Ole Quast (Ger) | |
-2laps | Igor Smarzaro (Ita) | |
-2laps | Jeremy Durrin (USA) | |
-2laps | Craig Richey (Can) | |
-3laps | Ryan Knapp (USA) | |
-3laps | Keiichi Tsujiura (Jpn) Team Bridgestone Anchor | |
-3laps | Mitchell Hoke (USA) | |
-5laps | Lewis Rattray (Aus) | |
-6laps | David Quist (Nor) | |
DNF | Petr Dlask (Cze) Madeta Fitness / Specialized | |
DNF | Troy Wells (USA) | |
DNF | Ondrej Bambula (Cze) | |
DNF | John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNS | Robert Gavenda (Svk) KDL Trans |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Sunweb - Revor | 440 | pts |
2 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 430 | |
3 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quickstep Cycling Team | 375 | |
4 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb - Revor | 335 | |
5 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 325 | |
6 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 305 | |
7 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ | 266 | |
8 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 249 | |
9 | Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ | 238 | |
10 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 215 | |
11 | Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink - Leontien.Nl Cycling Team | 208 | |
12 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Selle Italia Guerciotti | 206 | |
13 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus | 201 | |
14 | Radomir Simunek (Cze) BKCP - Powerplus | 197 | |
15 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco Cycling Team | 181 | |
16 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 179 | |
17 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott - Swisspower Mtb - Racing | 174 | |
18 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Big Mat - Auber 93 | 167 | |
19 | Simon Zahner (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 167 | |
20 | Twan Van Den Brand (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 154 | |
21 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Bkcp - Powerplus | 150 | |
22 | Marcel Meisen (Ger) | 133 | |
23 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Cyclingteam De Rijke | 129 | |
24 | Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink - Leontien.Nl Cycling Team | 126 | |
25 | Cristian Cominelli (Ita) TX Active Bianchi | 121 | |
26 | Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 112 | |
27 | Aurelien Duval (Fra) | 108 | |
28 | Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa) | 102 | |
29 | Martin Zlamalik (Cze) KDL Trans | 102 | |
30 | Jeremy Powers (USA) Team Rapha Focus | 97 | |
31 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 96 | |
32 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 94 | |
33 | Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale / Cyclocrossworld.Com | 91 | |
34 | Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike | 90 | |
35 | Vladimir Kyzivat (Cze) | 89 | |
36 | Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team | 77 | |
37 | Christian Heule (Swi) Cannondale / Cyclocrossworld.Com | 75 | |
38 | Niels Wubben (Ned) Rabobank - Giant Off-Road Team | 73 | |
39 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 71 | |
40 | Petr Dlask (Cze) Madeta Fitness / Specialized | 67 | |
41 | David Kasek (Cze) | 66 | |
42 | Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 64 | |
43 | Jiri Polnicky (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 63 | |
44 | Mitchell Huenders (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels | 58 | |
45 | Sascha Weber (Ger) Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.De | 57 | |
46 | Magnus Darvell (Swe) | 51 | |
47 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP - Powerplus | 48 | |
48 | John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 42 | |
49 | Elia Silvestri (Ita) Selle Italia Guerciotti | 42 | |
50 | Karel Hnik (Cze) Telenet - Fidea | 37 | |
51 | Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) | 35 | |
52 | Johannes Sickmueller (Ger) Feenstra Stevens Bike Team | 31 | |
53 | Marco Ponta (Ita) | 30 | |
54 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 29 | |
55 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 29 | |
56 | Robert Gavenda (Svk) KDL Trans | 27 | |
57 | Jérome Chevallier (Fra) | 26 | |
58 | Isaac Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | 25 | |
59 | Mirko Tabacchi (Ita) | 24 | |
60 | Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa) | 23 | |
61 | James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale / Cyclocrossworld.Com | 22 | |
62 | Kenneth Hansen (Den) | 21 | |
63 | Tijmen Eising (Ned) Sunweb - Revor | 19 | |
64 | Craig Richey (Can) | 19 | |
65 | Eddy Van Ijzendoorn (Ned) Orange Babies Cycling Team | 19 | |
66 | Lubomir Petrus (Cze) | 18 | |
67 | Erlantz Uriarte Okamika (Spa) | 18 | |
68 | Fabio Ursi (Ita) Team CBE Tecnoimpianti A.S.D. | 18 | |
69 | Jose Antonio Diez Arriola (Spa) | 17 | |
70 | Guillaume Perrot (Fra) | 17 | |
71 | Ondrej Bambula (Cze) | 17 | |
72 | Jeremy Durrin (USA) | 16 | |
73 | Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 16 | |
74 | Martin Haring (Svk) | 16 | |
75 | Joachim Parbo (Den) | 14 | |
76 | Milan Barenyi (Svk) | 14 | |
77 | Joeri Adams (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 12 | |
78 | René Lang (Swi) | 12 | |
79 | Melvin Rulliere (Fra) | 11 | |
80 | Nico Brüngger (Swi) | 11 | |
81 | Arnaud Grand (Swi) Telenet - Fidea | 9 | |
82 | Clément Bourgoin (Fra) | 9 | |
83 | Marek Cichosz (Pol) Legia - Felt | 6 | |
84 | Ole Quast (Ger) | 6 | |
85 | Yannick Mayer (Ger) Team NSP | 5 | |
86 | Vaclav Metlicka (Svk) | 3 | |
87 | Arnaud Jouffroy (Fra) Telenet - Fidea | 2 |
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Movistar are launching an e-racing team and they're looking for riders
The Movistar Team Challenge will select 5 men and 5 women to race for the all-new e-sports team -
Electric bike deals: Discounts on road, hybrid and mountain e-bikes
Cheap electric bikes promise the world but often fail to deliver, instead, save money on quality e-bikes with our pick of the best electric bike deals -
Stybar to ride Cyclo-cross Worlds
Czech decides to race after COVID-19 cancellations change road schedule -
Cyclo-cross World Championships set to go ahead despite COVID-19 outbreak in Ostend
'I don’t know why the Worlds can't take place' says local favourite Wout Van Aert
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.