Boom races to snowy victory in Zolder ahead of Albert
Wellens takes third spot
Lars Boom (Rabobank) captured the win in the only cyclo-cross World Cup round he is racing this season, the sixth round in Zolder, Belgium. The 24-year-old Dutch champion dealt best with the deep snow that had turned the former Belgian F1 car circuit into an extremely challenging and often dangerous course.
After showing great skills on the bike, Boom tackled a cup of beer, showing he was not taking his cyclo-cross adventure too seriously.
"For me this is the most ideal way to prepare for the road season, but don't think I have no respect for the real cyclo-cross riders. Of course, I'm starting these races with a little bit of ambition because I don't want to come here and finish 20th," Boom said.
World Cup leader Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) finished second at 13 seconds behind Boom, but the Belgian strengthened his lead in the World Cup. Albert now holds a lead of more than 60 points, which is the amount of points at stake for the winner of a World Cup round.
"It's always possible to finish out of the points in a race and then my lead is gone, but surely I'm going to defend my lead in the World Cup in the last two races," said Albert. "Then I have at least one jersey at the end of the season."
The leading duo exchanged turns in the lead position during the first five laps, and when Boom dropped his chain for a second time during the third lap, he was trailing by about 15 seconds. "The chain wasn't fine-tuned and on the bumpy downhills, it often dropped but after changing bikes. It was alright," Boom said.
The Dutch champion Boom bridged back up to Albert and in the sixth lap, the latter got stuck into the deep snow on the upper part of the course. "It's a disgrace they didn't remove the snow in that section," both Albert and Boom said. The 24-year-old Belgian Albert wasn't able to close the gap of 13 seconds on his Dutch peer in the closing laps, and he finished second.
"I think we were each other's match technically, but on the road he was phenomenal. He has more power and can make more revolutions. The road was a bit too long for me," said Albert, talking about the start-finish straight of the car circuit.
Veterans Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) and Gerben de Knegt (Rabo-Giant Offroad) captured their best results of the season by finishing respectively third and fourth, both at more than a minute from the winner. For Wellens, it was the first podium result since November 11 in Niel.
"It's great to finally climb the podium after falling just short 11 times this season [five - Ed.]. I had a terrible start but went better throughout the race," said Wellens. "I've never ridden in these conditions in my long career."
During the fifth lap, Wellens bridged up to De Knegt, who quickly encountered a mechanical, forcing him to focus on fourth place rather than third. "Too bad because I think I matched his speed. Riding through the snow is like riding through sand and that's something I'm good at," De Knegt said.
Belgian champion Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) rode an anonymous race and finished fifth in Zolder. Nys never made it to the front of the race and struggled in the slippery conditions. After the race Nys talked about severe pain in his back. "I crashed on the street this week and already received treatment, but clearly not enough; I felt like a novice," Nys told Sporza.
Czech rider Radomir Simunek excels in icy conditions, and he lived up to the expectations when rode in third place during the fifth lap. On a straightforward section, he suddenly slipped and touched the barriers, going spectacularly over the handlebars. The winner from the Scheldecross in Antwerp probably broke his collarbone.
Tomorrow, most cyclo-cross stars head to Diegem where world champion Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) will make his comeback after a knee injury.
The next round of the World Cup will be held in Pont-Château, France on 2011, January 16.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank | 1:08:29 |
2 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:00:13 |
3 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:01:16 |
4 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 0:01:45 |
5 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 0:01:55 |
6 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 0:02:24 |
7 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:02:34 |
8 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | |
9 | Christian Heule (Swi) Champion System LBS | 0:02:39 |
10 | Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 0:02:42 |
11 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:02:48 |
12 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | |
13 | Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 0:02:54 |
14 | Eddy van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 0:03:02 |
15 | Steve Chainel (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:03:14 |
16 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 0:03:23 |
17 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Auber 93 | 0:03:30 |
18 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:04:12 |
19 | Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike | 0:04:19 |
20 | Petr Dlask (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 0:04:45 |
21 | Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 0:05:54 |
22 | Simon Zahner (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:06:00 |
23 | Vladimír Kyzivát (Cze) Johnson Controls Aš Mb | 0:06:03 |
24 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:06:44 |
25 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team | 0:07:02 |
26 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus | 0:07:06 |
27 | John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale | 0:07:18 |
28 | David Kášek (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor | 0:07:31 |
29 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 0:07:43 |
-1lap | Ondrej Bambula (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor | |
-1lap | Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned) | |
-1lap | Wilant van Gils (Ned) CX Nederland | |
-2laps | Joachim Parbo (Den) Kch Leopard Cycles | |
-2laps | Robert Gavenda (Svk) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | |
-2laps | Romain Villa (Fra) | |
-2laps | Sean Babcock (USA) Kona | |
-2laps | Isaac Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | |
-2laps | Milan Barenyi (Svk) | |
-2laps | Fabio Ursi (Ita) Buergi | |
-2laps | Mitchell Huenders (Ned) BKCP-Powerplus | |
-3laps | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Van Vliet EBH Elshof | |
-3laps | Yu Takenouchi (Jpn) | |
-3laps | Keiichi Tsujiura (Jpn) | |
-3laps | Laurent Colombatto (Fra) AC Bisontine | |
-3laps | Rene Birkenfeld (Ger) Harvesterhude Rv | |
-3laps | Antonio Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | |
-3laps | Marco Bianco (Ita) | |
-4laps | Mark Lalonde (USA) Specialized | |
-4laps | Craig Richey (Can) Cyclocrossracing.Com p/b Blue | |
-4laps | Paul Voss (Ger) Team Milram | |
-4laps | Jérome Chevallier (Fra) AC Bisontine | |
-4laps | Mik Garrigan (Can) | |
-4laps | Ryan Iddings (USA) Redline | |
-4laps | Robert Glajza (Svk) BKP | |
-5laps | Hikaru Kosaka (Jpn) Utsunomiya Blitzen | |
-5laps | Martin Haring (Svk) CK Banská Bystrica | |
-5laps | Romain Lejeune (Fra) UV Aube | |
-5laps | Ryan Knapp (USA) BikeReg.com | |
-5laps | Mitchell Hoke (USA) Clif Bar Development Team | |
-5laps | Shaun Adamson (Can) Cycle-Smart | |
-5laps | Brian Matter (USA) Gear Grinder | |
DNF | Radomir Simunek Jr. (Cze) BKCP-Powerplus | |
DNF | Marco Ponta (Ita) | |
DNF | Sacha Weber (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | |
DNS | Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona | |
DNS | Alberto Candelas Caballero (Spa) |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 420 | pts |
2 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 354 | |
3 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 349 | |
4 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 294 | |
5 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 293 | |
6 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ | 290 | |
7 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 270 | |
8 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 264 | |
9 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus | 234 | |
10 | Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 230 | |
11 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 226 | |
12 | Eddy van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 214 | |
13 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus | 212 | |
14 | Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 210 | |
15 | Christian Heule (Swi) Champion System LBS | 208 | |
16 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 194 | |
17 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team | 180 | |
18 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Auber 93 | 177 | |
19 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 164 | |
20 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 157 | |
21 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 152 | |
22 | Steve Chainel (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 146 | |
23 | Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 139 | |
24 | Radomir Simunek Jr. (Cze) BKCP-Powerplus | 129 | |
25 | Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike | 122 | |
26 | Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned) | 121 | |
27 | Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa) | 119 | |
28 | Petr Dlask (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 119 | |
29 | Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 115 | |
30 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Van Vliet EBH Elshof | 106 | |
31 | Mitchell Huenders (Ned) BKCP-Powerplus | 104 | |
32 | David Kášek (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor | 88 | |
33 | Vladimír Kyzivát (Cze) Johnson Controls Aš Mb | 85 | |
34 | Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 82 | |
35 | Johannes Sickmüller (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 82 | |
36 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank | 80 | |
37 | Ondrej Bambula (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor | 77 | |
38 | John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale | 77 | |
39 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 77 | |
40 | Robert Gavenda (Svk) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 73 | |
41 | Romain Villa (Fra) | 69 | |
42 | Fabio Ursi (Ita) Buergi | 59 | |
43 | Sacha Weber (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 59 | |
44 | Isaac Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | 52 | |
45 | Joachim Parbo (Den) Kch Leopard Cycles | 47 | |
46 | Laurent Colombatto (Fra) AC Bisontine | 46 | |
47 | Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com | 43 | |
48 | Jirí Polnický (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 41 | |
49 | Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) | 39 | |
50 | Guillaume Perrot (Fra) | 39 | |
51 | Pirmin Lang (Swi) Buergi | 37 | |
52 | Wilant van Gils (Ned) CX Nederland | 36 | |
53 | Marek Cichosz (Pol) Legia - Felt | 35 | |
54 | Jeremy Powers (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com | 31 | |
55 | Jérome Chevallier (Fra) AC Bisontine | 30 | |
56 | Simon Zahner (Swi) Bmc Racing Team | 29 | |
57 | James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com | 27 | |
58 | Marco Ponta (Ita) | 27 | |
59 | Tijmen Eising (Ned) Sunweb-Revor | 26 | |
60 | Milan Barenyi (Svk) | 23 | |
61 | Karel Hník (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 22 | |
62 | David Lozano Riba (Spa) | 21 | |
63 | Tommy Nielsen (Den) | 21 | |
64 | Daniel Ruiz Echeandia (Spa) | 20 | |
65 | Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona | 19 | |
66 | Kenneth Hansen (Den) | 19 | |
67 | Florian Le Corre (Fra) Flers Cyclisme 61 | 19 | |
68 | Geert van der Horst (Ned) | 18 | |
69 | Mauro Gonzalez Fontan (Spa) | 17 | |
70 | Mik Garrigan (Can) | 17 | |
71 | Erlantz Uriarte Okamika (Spa) | 16 | |
72 | Sean Babcock (USA) Kona | 15 | |
73 | David Juarez Alday (Spa) | 15 | |
74 | Keiichi Tsujiura (Jpn) | 14 | |
75 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 13 | |
76 | René Lang (Swi) | 12 | |
77 | Václav Metlicka (Svk) Johnson Controls Aš Mb | 11 | |
78 | Yu Takenouchi (Jpn) | 9 | |
79 | Rene Birkenfeld (Ger) Harvesterhude Rv | 8 | |
80 | Michael Schweizer (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 7 | |
81 | Martin Haring (Svk) CK Banská Bystrica | 6 | |
82 | Mirko Tabacchi (Ita) | 6 | |
83 | Craig Richey (Can) Cyclocrossracing.Com p/b Blue | 6 | |
84 | Antonio Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | 5 | |
85 | Mark Lalonde (USA) Specialized | 3 | |
86 | David van der Poel (Ned) BKCP-Powerplus | 3 | |
87 | Robert Glajza (Svk) BKP | 2 | |
88 | Paul Voss (Ger) Team Milram | 1 | |
89 | Gusty Bausch (Lux) | 1 | |
90 | Xabier Garcia Irazola (Spa) | 1 |
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