Albert seals World Cup with Hoogerheide win
By Brecht Decaluwé published
Pauwels, Nys best of the rest
A third UCI cyclo-cross World Cup win was more than enough for Belgian champion Niels Albert (BCKP-Powerplus) to clinch the overall series 7victory. The 24 year-old Belgian gapped Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea) during the seventh lap on the slippery muddy course and he didn't allow his compatriot to bridge back up in the closing two laps.
Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) won the battle for the remaining podium spot from world champion Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) at half a minute behind winner Albert.
For Albert it is the fourth consecutive win in Hoogerheide where he won the Men U23 race in 2008, the elite men's world championships in 2009 and the two World Cup rounds that were organized since then. After winning the race, Albert surprised by saying he wasn't having great legs during the race on Sunday afternoon.
"I didn't have the sensations that I needed to ride a race," Albert said. Early on that was apparent since Albert wasn't featuring in the top 10.
Stybar had a fast start and quickly created a 20 second gap on a large group led by Timothy Johnson (Cannondale). "The others weren't slowing down but I figured that it was best for me to ride my own pace in front while I had the chance," Johnson told Cyclingnews.
Albert noticed that the efforts from Johnson and later Pauwels weren't enough to bring back leader Stybar. "We were not taking time back on Stybar until I led the chase after moving up in the group," Albert said. Despite taking time back on the leader Albert wasn't happy with the lack of support in the pursuit on world champion Stybar.
"I know that I wasn't going to lose the World Cup today but I didn't want to lose the race because others didn't want to co-operate in the chase. I told the guys in the pit that I would try one more time to get back to Stybar and if it wouldn't work out I would take my foot of the gas.
"I simply can't believe that Kevin wasn't able to do a bit of work because later in the race I gapped him and he was able to stay within ten seconds for several laps," Albert said.
It doesn't happen too often that once Stybar is brought back after creating such a big gap. The Czech rider explained that the training efforts of the past few weeks may have taken their toll during the second half of the race. "I made too many mistakes because I was no longer feeling fresh. I'm actually never feeling good in Hoogerheide while I'm always feeling great one week later at the world championships," Stybar said.
With less than three laps remaining Albert had another acceleration left in his legs. Stybar, Nys and Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) were quickly dropped but Pauwels remained within reach. The gap never grew up to more than 10 seconds but it was enough for Albert to win once again in Hoogerheide.
Pauwels was second at 6 seconds from Albert. Nys and Stybar battled for third place and it was Nys who won the prestige duel. "It's always better to finish on than off the podium. Last week I wasn't able to respond on any acceleration while today was much different. On both occasions I finished third but today that was a well-deserved result; I'm happy," Nys said.
After a great start Johnson lost a bit of ground during the second half of the race and he eventually finished 16th. Jonathan Page (Planetbike) made the best of his race after a not-so-great start by finishing twentieth. Fellow US-riders James Driscoll (Cannondale) and Jeremy Powers (Cannondale) finished respectively 28th and 36th. British rider Ian Field (Hargroves Cycles) was 35th.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus | 1:04:21 |
2 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 0:00:06 |
3 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 0:00:32 |
4 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Telenet - Fidea | 0:00:37 |
5 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb - Revor | 0:00:38 |
6 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 0:00:47 |
7 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:01:00 |
8 | Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ | 0:01:11 |
9 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 0:01:35 |
10 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ | 0:02:00 |
11 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team | 0:02:05 |
12 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Big Mat - Auber 93 | |
13 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet - Fidea | 0:02:06 |
14 | Kenneth Van Compernolle (Bel) | 0:02:16 |
15 | John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale | 0:02:26 |
16 | Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld | 0:02:29 |
17 | Martin Zlamalik (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 0:02:34 |
18 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:02:40 |
19 | Christian Heule (Swi) | 0:02:43 |
20 | Jonathan Page (USA) | 0:02:49 |
21 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) | 0:02:58 |
22 | Petr Dlask (Cze) Telenet - Fidea | 0:03:10 |
23 | Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink/Leontien.nl | 0:03:12 |
24 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:03:28 |
25 | Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink/Leontien.nl | 0:03:29 |
26 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) | 0:03:30 |
27 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 0:03:43 |
28 | James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld | 0:03:59 |
29 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower Mtb-Racing | 0:04:06 |
30 | Robert Gavenda (Svk) Telenet - Fidea | 0:04:11 |
31 | Radomir Simunek (Cze) BKCP - Powerplus | 0:04:12 |
32 | Vladimir Kyzivat (Cze) | |
33 | Cristian Cominelli (Ita) Tx Active Bianchi | 0:04:23 |
34 | Marek Cichosz (Pol) | 0:04:29 |
35 | Ian Field (GBr) | 0:04:39 |
36 | Jeremy Powers (USA) Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld | 0:04:44 |
37 | Magnus Darvell (Swe) | 0:04:52 |
38 | Eddy Van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink/Leontien.nl | 0:05:04 |
39 | Ondrej Bambula (Cze) | 0:05:07 |
40 | René Birkenfeld (Ger) | 0:05:11 |
41 | Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) | 0:05:16 |
42 | Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) | 0:05:44 |
43 | Johannes Sickmueller (Ger) | 0:06:08 |
44 (-1 lap) | Fabio Ursi (Ita) | |
45 | Keiichi Tsujiura (Jpn) | |
46 | Hannes Genze (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team | |
47 | Ludovic Renard (Fra) | |
48 | Wilant Van Gils (Ned) | |
49 | Gusty Bausch (Lux) | |
50 | David Kasek (Cze) | |
51 (-2 laps) | Roy Van Heeswijk (Ned) | |
52 | Yu Takenouchi (Jpn) | |
53 | Tommy Nielsen (Den) | |
54 (-3 laps) | Atsushi Maruyama (Jpn) | |
55 | Derrick St John (Can) | |
56 | Craig Richey (Can) | |
57 (-4 laps) | Daniel Ania Gonzalez (Spa) | |
58 (-5 laps) | Shaun Adamson (Can) | |
DNF | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP - Powerplus | |
DNF | Sascha Weber (Ger) | |
DNF | Mitchell Huenders (Ned) |
1 | Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 570 | pts |
2 | Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 499 | |
3 | Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | 484 | |
4 | Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 392 | |
5 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ | 369 | |
6 | Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 357 | |
7 | Gerben De Knegt (Ned) Rabobank-Giant Off Road Team | 341 | |
8 | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) BKCP-Powerplus | 330 | |
9 | Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus | 299 | |
10 | Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 294 | |
11 | Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 290 | |
12 | Thijs van Amerongen (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 261 | |
13 | Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Auber 93 | 260 | |
14 | Christian Heule (Swi) Champion System LBS | 259 | |
15 | Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus | 254 | |
16 | Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ | 252 | |
17 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower MTB-Racing | 246 | |
18 | Eddy van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 242 | |
19 | Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 240 | |
20 | Mariusz Gil (Pol) Baboco - Revor Cycling Team | 240 | |
21 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 214 | |
22 | Marco Bianco (Ita) | 199 | |
23 | Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 190 | |
24 | Petr Dlask (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 175 | |
25 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Van Vliet EBH Elshof | 170 | |
26 | Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team | 165 | |
27 | John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale | 159 | |
28 | Jonathan Page (USA) | 153 | |
29 | Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa) | 152 | |
30 | Radomir Simunek Jr. (Cze) BKCP-Powerplus | 149 | |
31 | Patrick van Leeuwen (Ned) | 144 | |
32 | Vladimír Kyzivát (Cze) Johnson Controls Aš Mb | 133 | |
33 | Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles | 129 | |
34 | Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com | 117 | |
35 | Johannes Sickmüller (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 110 | |
36 | Ondrej Bambula (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor | 105 | |
37 | Mitchell Huenders (Ned) BKCP-Powerplus | 104 | |
38 | Robert Gavenda (Svk) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 102 | |
39 | David Kášek (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor | 89 | |
40 | Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 82 | |
41 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank | 80 | |
42 | Jeremy Powers (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com | 78 | |
43 | Isaac Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | 76 | |
44 | Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) | 74 | |
45 | James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com | 73 | |
46 | Romain Villa (Fra) | 69 | |
47 | Fabio Ursi (Ita) Buergi | 66 | |
48 | Sacha Weber (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 59 | |
49 | Marek Cichosz (Pol) Legia-Felt | 52 | |
50 | Florian Le Corré (Fra) Flers Cyclisme 61 | 47 | |
51 | Joachim Parbo (Den) Kch Leopard Cycles | 47 | |
52 | Laurent Colombatto (Fra) AC Bisontine | 46 | |
53 | Jirí Polnický (Cze) Sunweb - Revor | 41 | |
54 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 39 | |
55 | Guillaume Perrot (Fra) | 39 | |
56 | Wilant van Gils (Ned) CX Nederland | 39 | |
57 | Kenneth van Compernolle (Bel) Sunweb-Revor | 37 | |
58 | Pirmin Lang (Swi) Buergi | 37 | |
59 | Jérome Chevallier (Fra) AC Bisontine | 30 | |
60 | Simon Zahner (Swi) | 29 | |
61 | Marco Ponta (Ita) | 27 | |
62 | Tijmen Eising (Ned) Sunweb-Revor | 26 | |
63 | Rene Birkenfeld (Ger) Harvesterhude Rv | 26 | |
64 | Ludovic Renard (Fra) Oceane Cycle Poitevin | 25 | |
65 | Magnus Darvell (Swe) | 24 | |
66 | Milan Barenyi (Svk) | 23 | |
67 | Karel Hník (Cze) Telenet-Fidea Cycling Team | 22 | |
68 | David Lozano Riba (Spa) | 21 | |
69 | Tommy Nielsen (Den) | 21 | |
70 | Daniel Ruiz Echeandia (Spa) | 20 | |
71 | Keiichi Tsujiura (Jpn) | 20 | |
72 | Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona | 19 | |
73 | Kenneth Hansen (Den) | 19 | |
74 | Cristian Cominelli (Ita) | 18 | |
75 | Geert van der Horst (Ned) | 18 | |
76 | Mauro Gonzalez Fontan (Spa) | 17 | |
77 | Mik Garrigan (Can) | 17 | |
78 | Erlantz Uriarte Okamika (Spa) | 16 | |
79 | Sean Babcock (USA) Kona | 15 | |
80 | David Juarez Alday (Spa) | 15 | |
81 | Craig Richey (Can) Cyclocrossracing.Com p/b Blue | 15 | |
82 | Derrick St John (Can) Garneau Club Chaussure-Ogilvy | 14 | |
83 | Matthieu Boulo (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 13 | |
84 | René Lang (Swi) | 12 | |
85 | Julien Pion (Fra) | 11 | |
86 | Václav Metlicka (Svk) Johnson Controls Aš Mb | 11 | |
87 | Yu Takenouchi (Jpn) | 9 | |
88 | Michael Schweizer (Ger) Stevens Racing Team | 7 | |
89 | Shaun Adamson (Can) Cycle-Smart | 6 | |
90 | Martin Haring (Svk) CK Banská Bystrica | 6 | |
91 | Mirko Tabacchi (Ita) | 6 | |
92 | Hannes Genze (Ger) | 5 | |
93 | Antonio Suarez Fernandez (Spa) | 5 | |
94 | Mark Lalonde (USA) Cal Giant-Specialized | 3 | |
95 | David van der Poel (Ned) BKCP-Powerplus | 3 | |
96 | Gusty Bausch (Lux) | 3 | |
97 | Robert Glajza (Svk) BKP | 2 | |
98 | Paul Voss (Ger) | 1 | |
99 | Xabier Garcia Irazola (Spa) | 1 |

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