Nys gets revenge in Overijse

For the third year in a row Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony) won the Druivencross in Overijse, Belgium. The race in Overijse is a classic in the cyclo-cross season and big crowds lined up in the rain and mud to see the cyclo-cross stars.

That's despite the fact that since a few years ago the race no longer features in any of the major series. World champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) finished as runner-up – once again – behind the Belgian champion. Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) was third. Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor) who won on Saturday in Antwerp but he didn't mix in with the best on Sunday.

Halfway through the race Nys made the decisive move in the soaked meadows of Overijse. The 36-year-old convincingly plowed away from Vantornout on the hilly course with Albert trying to recover from a mistake earlier in the race. The world champion was riding right behind leader Vantornout when he got into the wrong track and into the wiring. From there Nys took the initiative. First he joined Vantornout and when the latter made a mistake himself Nys was gone.

Albert worked hard and with three laps to go he got back to no more than nine seconds from the leader. An entertaining duel seemed to be unfolding. One lap later Nys gained back time on chaser Albert and the latter had to throw in the towel. Nys' lead steadily grew back up and on the bell lap the Belgian champion had time to enjoy the applauds from the big crowds.

Albert settled for second place at half a minute from Nys. Vantornout was third in the mud at less than a minute from the winner. Fast starter Thijs van Amerongen (AA Drink – Leontien.nl) didn't blow up his engine after leading the race in the first laps. The Dutchman showed he's strong on demanding muddy courses and he finished as best of the rest at 1:42, just ahead of Marcel Meisen (BKCP-Powerplus) and French champion Aurélien Duval (ECV Boulzicourt Adrisport). Pauwels barely managed to crack the top-10 after a poor start, finishing in ninth place.

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