While the competition, also sponsored by The Hartford, did not find the Americans on the podium, U.S. Director, High Performance, Paralympic Cycling Craig Griffin was encouraged by his riders’ performances.

“We had a pretty solid day today,” Griffin said. “The competition is so deep, it’s hard to break into the medal round, but they’re getting close. The gap between the podium and where they qualified is getting closer. I’m excited about their progression.”

That gap was extremely slim in the men’s B one-kilometer time trial as two different American tandems held the fast time during the course of the event. The fourth team to start the event was Chester Triplett (Mooresville, N.C.) and Pete Billington (San Rafael, Calif.). That duo recorded a fast time of 1:06.858 which stood until the 14th team, Bryce Lindores and Scott McPhee of Australia, overtook them.

The second American twosome to compete in the event was Clark Rachfal (Annapolis, Md.) and Dave Swanson (Tucson, Ariz.). That duo recorded a fast time of 1:05.150, but they would place fifth overall. Triplett and Billington finished in ninth. Great Britain’s Craig MacLean and Anthony Kappes collected the gold medal after registering a 1:03.013, edging their compatriots and silver medalists Neil Fachie and Barney Storey, who finished in 1:03.112. Rinne Oost and Patrick Bos of the Netherlands earned the bronze medal with a time of 1:04.183.

In the women’s B one-kilometer time trial, the American pair of Karissa Whitsell (Eugene, Ore.) and Lisa Turnbull (Springfield, Ore.) placed ninth with a 1:14.834. The Australian duo of Felicity Johnson and Stephanie Morton unofficially recorded a world record by finishing in 1:08.714. The tandem from Great Britain, Aileen McGlynn and Helen Scott collected its second silver medal in as many days after completing the one kilometer in 1:10.154. Kathrin Goeken and Kim Van Dijk of the Netherlands earned the bronze medal after clocking in at 1:12.248.

Americans Sam Kavanagh (Bozeman, Mont.) and Aaron Trent (Colorado Springs, Colo.) placed seventh and eighth, respectively in the men’s C4 four-kilometer pursuit. Carol-Eduard Novak (ROU), who qualified with the second-best time, rode four kilometers in 4:47.927 to earn the gold medal. Jiri Jezek (CZE) won the silver medal while Jody Cundy (GBR) overtook Roberto Alcaide Garcia (ESP) to win the bronze.

In the men’s C1 three-kilometer pursuit, Mark Lee Colbourne (GBR) overtook Spain’s Juan Jose Mendez Fernandez in the gold medal race while Rodrigo Fernand Lopez caught Germany’s Erich Winkler to secure the bronze. The two American entries, Matthew Bigos (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) and Anthony Zahn (Riverside, Calif.), qualified in 10th and 11th positions with respective times of 4:33.860 and 4:38.245.

In the men’s C3 three-kilometer pursuit, Michael Farrell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) qualified in 12th with a time of 3:59.329. David Nicholas (AUS) overtook silver medalist Darren Kenny (GBR) in the gold medal race while Juan Emilio Gutierrez Berenguel (ESP) was a half-second faster than Shaun McKeown (GBR) to secure the bronze medal.

The winner of the men’s C5 four-kilometer world championship race, Michael T. Gallagher (AUS), who qualified in second place earlier in the day, edged Xinyang Liu (CHN) in the gold medal race. Andrea Tarlao (ITA) was just over three seconds faster than Yehor Dementyev (UKR) in the bronze medal race. The American entry in the competition, Mark Gyulafia (Portland, Ore.), posted a 5:04.039 to finish 11th.

In the men’s C2 three-kilometer contest, Colin Lynch (IRL) finished the gold medal race nearly six seconds faster than silver medalist Gui Hua Liang (CHN). Fabrizio Macchi (ITA) overtook Alvaro Galvis Becerra (COL) to earn the bronze medal.

The competition continues Saturday with the women’s three-kilometer pursuit and the men’s one-kilometer time trial.

Complete competition results, race schedule and live streaming information can be found on the event’s web page, http://www.paracyclingla2012.com.

For more information about U.S. Paralympics, its athletes or programs, visit usparalympics.org.

Well, Stages 3 and 5 demonstrated that Mark Cavendish does not need a dedicated lead-out man to win. That’s not to say his Sky team did nothing – on both occasions in the final kilometers, Bernie Eisel and Juan Antonio Flecha got him where he needed to be – but Cav’ demonstrated his incredible dexterity by jumping from wheel to wheel until he launched his trademark low-profile sprint.

And when he goes, it really is a sight to behold.

It appeared that he was reveling in not having someone like his old lead-out man, Mark Renshaw, to steer him to the line – like he was playing a game of ‘Frogger’ on the Doha desert highway.

“You never really get the season going until you get that first win under your belt,” Cavendish said after his Stage 3 win outside Al Gharafa Stadium.

The key for his rivals was to stop him from taking that first win; now that he’s started, Cavendish will be virtually impossible to stop – unless, of course, he gets taken out (or takes himself out, depending on how you saw it), as happened on Friday’s final stage. Subjectively, it wasn’t really anyone’s fault, as much as it was the risks that riders were taking when 13 teams were yet to notch a notch a victory after five days’ racing.

It must be an awful conundrum for the likes of André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol, who was not in Qatar due to illness), Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda), Mark Renshaw (Rabobank), Thor Hushovd (BMC), Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) and others right now.
It is clear as day that Cavendish is the fastest by a solid margin. He also has the agility and poise of Robbie McEwen in his heyday, which allows him to prevail with or without a lead-out train.

Greipel, simply because of his God-given strength (he says it’s from his mother – “you just need to look at her,” he said), will likely be the only man to come close to Cavendish this season. Perhaps his adversaries should get a hold of his race schedule and pick races the Manxman won’t be at, because to be beaten again and again and again, can wear on one’s confidence.

THE ECHELONS

No surprises here, but when the winds blow, the Belgians reaffirmed their prowess in this discipline. The fourth stage was the highlight of the race, as the peloton shattered, then splintered, and left as its by-product shelled victims strewn across the barren landscape.

Narrow roads, constant changes of direction, and ‘cat’s eyes’ added to the drama with punctures aplenty; Farrar and BMC revelation Adam Blythe were just a few of the victims. Boonen and his faithful Quick-Steppers knew where they needed to be and duly applied more pressure, leaving just a quartet to contest the finale; ‘Tommeke’ held a vice-like grip on GC.

The stage also provided a clear bellwether for the Spring Classics, particularly those of the cobbled variety: Boonen’s team-mate, Gert Steegmans, was exceptionally strong all week; Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek) and Flecha (Sky) were equally solid; honorable mentions also go to Blythe, Tom Veelers (Project 1t4i), Eisel (Sky), Farrar and Johan Van Summeren (Garmin-Barracuda).

The form that four-time Qatar champion Boonen boasted in the Middle East, however, leaves me wondering a little: Is he too good too soon? Though the fourth stage aside, the 31-year-old didn’t really extend himself and the longest leg was just 160 kilometers, so, more than likely, the boy from Balen is back on track for a good run at Flanders and Roubaix. He last won those races in 2006 and 2009, respectively.

For the rest, the end of Qatar marked 36 days from the season’s first major appointment, Milan-San Remo, with Tirreno-Adriatico, another warm-up race for the sprinters in between, leaving enough time for fine-tuning before La Classicissima.

Camels greeted the riders at the start of the 160km stage from Camel Race Track to Al Khor. The tailwind kept the pace high at the start. Five riders broke away after five kilometers. The riders in the breakaway, Wagner (RNT), Bodnar (LIQ), Kuchynski (KAT) Bertolini (FAR) and Nishizono (BGT), battled it out for the first intermediate sprint, which Kuchynnski won.

Wagner took the second bonus sprint before being caught 10km from the line.

Sky rider Cavendish won his second stage of the 2012 Tour of Qatar in a sprint, beating Italy’s Daniel Oss and Slovakian Peter Sagan to the line. Cavendish is in seventh overall after today’s stage.

“The guys took it in turns to come up and keep me sheltered up at the front — I always had one of them with me at every point in those last kilometres and that was incredible,” said Cavendish. ”The wind was a real factor at the end and was changing direction a lot so you couldn’t really do a big lead-out train. It was a scrap and everyone was pretty fresh. With the tailwind I could go from around 250-300 metres out and I just carried it to the line.

“It’s nice to get two wins. I won two stages here in 2009 and that was one of my most successful seasons so it’s good to get off to a great start with Team Sky and in the world champion’s jersey.”

Boonen finished 13th to retain his overall lead going into Friday’s final stage, a 120km ride from Sealine Beach Resort to Doha.

LUSAIL, Qatar (AFP) — American team Garmin-Barracuda won Monday’s second
stage of the Tour of Qatar, a 11.3km time trial at the Lusail motorcycle track.

Belgian Tom Boonen of the Omega Pharma-Quick Step, winner of Sunday’s first
stage, retained the race leader’s golden jersey, with American Tyler Farrar
second in the same time.

Garmin finished the time trial ahead of Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Sky.

“We’re here with some young riders. Second by seven seconds from the
machines that is Garmin,” said Boonen. “It’s really very good. Almost all the world’s best sprinters are here. That promises to throw up a good spectacle.”

Farrar, ranked second because Boonen won the first stage, added: “Team
time-trials are really Garmin’s speciality. They’re even our favourite event. We train a lot for them and today we had great legs.

“I’ll obviously give the maximum over the last four stages to claim the
golden jersey. But we’re at the start of the season. It’s my first race and my
form is without doubt not yet at its best.”

Tuesday sees the riders tackle the 146.5km third stage between Dukhan and
Al Gharafa Stadium.

The win gave Boonen the overall lead ahead of Monday’s second stage, a 11.3 kilometre team time-trial on the motor-cycle Grand Prix circuit of Lusail. The win was a sign that the veteran Boonen is starting to get some of his old form back after an injury-wrecked 2011 when he chalked up only two wins — one coming at the Tour of Qatar 12 months ago.

Boonen won a stage last week at the Tour de San Luis in Argentina and his teammates were left in no doubt that he is firmly back in the saddle. “I am confident that I can still compete with all top sprinters out there, even though these days that is not my priority,” he said.

“Last year at this time I was struggling with pains in my left leg, which stemmed from the knee operation I had. “That dragged on for months and then I broke bones in my hand in the Tour of Spain. “Today all that is behind me and at last I am free from injuries.”

The former world champion, however, said he was surprised at winning on Sunday, having spent three days traveling to the Gulf from South America. “There was also jet lag to get over and at the start of the race I didn’t feel great. But gradually it all came together for me,” he said.

The win gave Boonen the overall lead ahead of Monday’s second stage, a 11.3-kilometer team time-trial on the motorcycle Grand Prix circuit of Lusail.

For the second time in three days, foul weather forced race organizers to redirect the route that’s been plagued with cold, wind and snow. After some consideration, offcials opted to hold the race on a 22km circuit in Bagnols-sur-Ceze.

Bobbie Tracksel tried his luck at an escape, but Europcar rode to defend the leader’s jersey of Pierre Rolland. The group was later
fractured in heavy winds, with second-place rider Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) losing the wheel.

Marcato held off Belgian veteran Nico Eeckhout (An Post-Sean Kelly) to claim the win, with Julien El Fares coming close with third for his new squad at Team Type 1.

Rolland carries the leader’s jersey into Sunday’s double-stage finale, which includes a road stage and a 9.7km individual time trial to wrap France’s first stage race on the 2012 season.

Viviani won the Italian season-opener last year and confirms that he’s a sprinter on the rise. Inclement weather along the Italian
Mediterranean coast made for a long afternoon, but Viviano held off another rising prospect, Sacha Modolo (Colnago), with Filippo Baggio crossing the line third.

“This is a sign of maturity for me,” Viviani said at the line. “I started with the pressure of defending champion and despite some tough weather and racing conditions, I was able to confirm. My experience from last year helped. I thought Petacchi was the man to beat and I was watching him. When Modolo went, I passed with 70m to go to win.”

Viviani, 23, will race next at the Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria (February 9-12) and the London test event on the track
(February 15-16). His first major goal on the road will be Paris-Nice in early March.

Viviani will be taking aim at Olympic gold later this summer in the omium.

Stage 2 gallery

For the second day in a row, the start line of the Ladies Tour of Qatar was greeted by the resilient desert winds, which once again forced a very early selection. A group of 11 women split off the front of the peloton, and later slimmed down to nine containing stage one’s winner and GC leader, Kirsten Wild (NED), second in the GC Judith Arndt (GEW), Trixi Worrack (SLU), and white jersey holder Chloe Hosking (SLU).

At the first intermediate sprint, Wild took the maximum time bonus and points ahead of Van Dijk (SLU) and Arndt. The group’s advantage over the chase group grew to its maximum advantage of 1:20, with 58km to go in the strong headwinds. When the leaders entered the finishing circuits in Madinat Al Shamal the nine lost ground in the heavy crosswinds. The leaders managed to hold on till the second intermediate sprint, with Arndt taking the max points ahead of Wild and Van Dijk. The leaders were then caught by a chase group of about 30, seven kilometers later.

At the start of the final, 13km lap, a group of four attacked off the front with Worrack, Arndt, Wild, and Adrie Visser (SKI). Two kilometers later Worrack and Arndt pressed the pace, eventually opening up a gap of 2:20 over Wild and Visser. Worrack took the sprint win over Arndt. Visser held on for third over her countrywomen and rival Wild. Shelley Olds (USA) won the bunch sprint over the charging peloton who ended up 2:51 down on Worrack.

The leader’s gold jersey changed to Arndt who has a slim two-second lead over Worrack. While Wild maintains her lead in the point’s competition and Hosking (SLU) remains in the best young rider white jersey. Tomorrow is the third and final stage with a 92.5km race around the Katara Cultural Village.

Wind brings out Wild in stage 1

Ladies Tour of Qatar general classification results

As the wind picked up outside of the city of Doha, the 2012 Ladies Tour of Qatar got underway at the Camel Race track. In a race characterized by group after splintering group throughout the flat 97km race, Kirsten Wild (NED) sprinted to a hard earned victory out of her seven-person breakaway.

Wild was the only representation from her Netherlands national team in the decisive move, yet she still had no problem picking up a sprint bonus against her Specialized-Lululemon and GreenEdge breakaway companions. She followed up with an impressive finishing sprint win over Chloe Hosking (Specialized-Lululemon) and Ele Van Dijk (Specialized-Lululemon), who took second and third respectively.

Wild will enter stage two leading both the GC, by eight seconds, as well as the points competition. Second place finisher, Hosking, will be wearing the best young rider’s white jersey.

After a week of relatively warm, pleasant weather for riders training for the world championships in the dunes here on the North Sea coast, fog rolled in early Saturday morning. Juniors, who kicked off a weekend of championship contests, rolled off the line just as the sun began to break through the low clouds that hung over the polders in this normally quiet corner of Belgium.

Overnight temperatures just above freezing kept the track itself, already lined by fans more than a dozen deep along its most challenging sections, a mix of damp and tacky topsoil and loose, deeply tracked sand. Right away, as expected, the sand was a factor, as a traffic jam, due to a deep hole on the first significant sand passage sprung Van Aert while a group of about eight riders scrambled to catch up.

“The support from the crowds there might even have been a little too motivating,” said the Belgian, who received huge cheers from the partisan fans who lined the course. “I may have overreached a little, but later the cheers helped.”

Indeed, Van Aert proceeded to uncork the fastest lap of the day by nearly 15 seconds, but slowed badly in the second lap of the race, fading to third overall behind France’s Quentin Jauregui and Belgian teammate Daan Soete.

Meanwhile, Van Der Poel was steadily moving up after a slow start. When the leaders briefly sat up on the road at the end of the second lap, Van Der Poel’s chase group connected with the front of the race. Then the Dutch rider simply bided his time until a clever move on a particularly tricky corner in the sand put him in control of the race.

Back on top, the Dutchman showed exactly why he has so dominated the Junior scene this year, methodically eliminating challengers until, after dropping Soete during the fourth of six laps, he was all alone.

“I was thinking back to the World Cup,” Van Der Pole said later, referring to a race he won on the same course in November. “Just like today, I didn’t have a great start there, but then raced my own race. That helped today.”

While Van Der Poel cruised to victory, the Belgians — who eventually would land their entire five-man team in the top eight — battled for second, while Jauregui worked his way around through the bunch, identifiable by his a single red, white, and blue jersey among the crowd of sky-blue Belgians.

Only Van Aert could make any progress towards the leader, pulling clear again with one lap to go, leaving his teammates to sprint, unsuccessfully, for third, which went to Jauregui. But Van Aert’s surge was just a little too late, and by the time he began to gain any ground, Van Der Poel was already on the road, celebrating the first of what could prove to be several world championships.

While TV cameras showed the elder Van Der Poel running to the finish to see his son, the younger buried his face in his hands, overcome by the emotion of the moment.

“Being world champion is an amazing feeling,” the younger Van Der Poel would say in the post-race press conference. “You know,” he told reporters, eyes shining, “my dad had to wait a lot longer than me for his first world championship.”

For the American contingent, results were mixed. Cypress Gorry’s race was over almost before it started. Gorry found himself hung up in a crash just over the start line, and was forced to run for the pit. Though he battled valiantly to recover, the accident cost him nearly three minutes in the first lap.

Top hope for an American podium, Junior national champion Logan Owen, also had a disappointing race. Owen spent most of the day stuck in 14th place, his efforts to move up hampered by collisions out on course. With two laps to go, he found himself side-by-side with teammate Drew Dillman, who was working his way up from behind. The pair worked together to connect with a small group in front of them, but on the final section of sand, Dillman was able to go clear just as another rider fell into Owen.

Dillman rode alone across the line in 14th place, protected from behind by Owen, who took 17th.

“I was doing a lot of the pace making, and Drew would do a lot in the sand,” explained Owen. “Drew got a good gap when I fell, but I was glad I could help him get a good placing. I wish things would have gone better, but I just didn’t have the best of luck today. I’ll be looking for a world championship next year.”

Dillman, meanwhile, was very happy with 14th place. “The last couple of weeks I’ve just been having a hard time like at nationals,” said Dillman on the finish line. “I just wasn’t feeling good. I was shooting for a top ten, top fifteen and to get 14th, I’m really happy with that. I was really proud to hit my goal.”

Americans Curtis White and Tobin Ortenblad finished 34th and 48th, respectively.

Owen (Team Redline) exploded off the front up the first big climb.

“I noticed I had a pretty good gap. I wasn’t going too hard at that point, but I saw [the gap] and just drilled it.”

Owen rode flawlessly through the slippery, half-thawed Badger Prairie course that sent many of his peers into the mud.

“Everything worked out perfectly and I just rode away with it,” Owen said after the finish.

The race for second, however, was far less scripted, culminating in a sprint between recent Euro Cross Camp alumnus Tobin Ortenblad (California Giant-Specialized) and Cypress Gorry (Whole Athlete-Specialized) for the silver.

Andrew Dillman (Bob’s Red Mill) rode a strong first half of the race in second place, before a series of crashes on the slick, half-thawed course put the brakes on his silver medal aspirations.

“I crashed a bunch and just didn’t feel that good,” Dillman said.

He was caught and passed first by Ortenblad then Gorry, who rode back from a bad start with an underinflated tire. Gorry was able to use his climbing prowess to take time out of Ortenblad on the long climb, finally making contact on the last lap.

Ortenblad couldn’t fend Gorry off on the climbs, so he got prepared to put his comparatively beefy physique to good use in the final dash.

“I just waited ‘til I could get him on the sprint,” Ortenblad said. “We were just in Belgium together. We were just doing town line sprints, so I knew I could probably get him.”

Gorry also knew Ortenblad had the better kick. “I knew he was a better sprinter,” Gorry said. “I tried, but I just couldn’t get a big enough gap on the climbs.

Ortenblad took the sprint handily.

Dillman kept fighting to preserve fourth place, and Curtis White (Clif Bar) nabbed the final podium spot.

Owen secured a spot on the world championships team and is aiming for a top-five finish. Assuming he continues undefeated at nationals, expect Owen to win his first U23 title in 2014 and the elite men’s title in 2018.

Note: Watch live streaming video of the women’s and men’s elite races from the USAC Cyclocross National Championships beginning at 11:50 am (Central time) on Sunday, January 8 on VeloNews.com. Go to VeloNews.com/live!

Niels Albert celebrates as he wins the Azencross Loenhout, the fifth of eight GVA Trofee races, in Loenhout on Wednesday. Photo: Peter Deconinck | AFP

Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) soloed to victory in the GVA Trofee Azencross Loenhout on Wednesday.

The Belgian champion escaped Lars Boom (Rabobank) with just under five laps to race, then built an advantage of more than a half-minute over a chase group that included Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet), Telenet-Fidea teammates Bart Wellens and Rob Peeters, and world champion Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step).

The chase cut his advantage in half on the final lap, but would come now closer, and Albert had plenty of time to sit up, clap his hands and salute the crowd as he coasted across the line.

Behind, Nys and Stybar shelled the Telenets in the final go-round to fight it out for second, a battle that Stybar won easily at 16 seconds behind Albert. Nys hung on for third, with Peeters fourth and Wellens fifth.

American Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) finished 16th at 1:42.

GVA Trofee series leader Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor), winner at Monday’s World Cup in Zolder, was clearly on an off day. He was never in contention and finished sixth at 1:13. Nevertheless, he retains the series lead with 113 points; Stybar sits second at 101 with Albert third at 83.

Boom and bust

The course was a tough one, with a staircase run and flyover, a long, BMX-style pump-track section and plenty of mud.

Boom and Stybar found themselves off the front after a first-lap bobble in traffic saw a front-runner stuff his front wheel in a mudhole and spiral into the spectators.

At the end of the lap the two had seven seconds on Albert. Nys was at 14 seconds with series leader Pauwels further behind.

Albert closed to within a few seconds in the early going on the second lap. Boom hit the pits for a fresh bike, leaving Stybar in sole possession of the lead, and joined Albert in the pursuit with Nys just behind. Wellens was in the hunt, too, but Pauwels was still well back, mired in traffic.

At the end of lap two Stybar was still out front, but not by much. Boom latched on, and Albert and Nys were just a few bike lengths behind, trailed by Wellens, Meeusen and Sven Vanthourenhout (Landbouwkrediet).

Going into the third lap the same mudhole that split the bunch on lap one nearly claimed Stybar, giving the other chasers their chance to latch on and putting Boom and Albert on the sharp end of the lead group.

Then Nys hit the deck and had to leg it to the pit. Albert and Boom were off the front with Stybar and Wellens in pursuit. Behind, Tom Meeusen had linked up with teammate Peeters while Nys likewise joined forces with his teammate, Vanthourenhout. The two chases were nine and 18 seconds behind the leaders.

With five laps to go Albert and Boom held eight seconds over Wellens and Stybar, who in turn had 13 seconds over Nys, Vanthourenhout, Meeusen and Peeters. Pauwels was at 40 seconds and losing ground.

Albert batters Boom

Albert set about trying to rid himself of Boom. He put a couple bike lengths on the Rabobank rider in a twisty, back-and-forth section, but Boom closed the gap. Albert accelerated again and opened another gap, taking perhaps five seconds. Stybar was gutting it out in third while Nys chased with the Telenets, five seconds behind the world champion at the rolling pump-track section.

With four to go Albert held the slightest of leads, looking over his left shoulder at the pursuit. Boom fought back up to him, while Nys, Stybar and the Telenets followed at 18 seconds down as Vanthourenhout led a second chase.

Boom had trouble holding Albert’s wheel. As the two pitted for fresh bikes he was a handful of seconds down again — looking over his shoulder he could see Nys and the others closing in, five seconds down.

The Nys chase nearly had Boom at the stairs, and finally overhauled him at the pump track. Behind, Pauwels had made it up to the Vanthourenhout group.

With three laps to go, 36 minutes into the race, Albert had 12 seconds on a tough chase group containing Boom, Nys, Stybar and three Telenets — Peeters, Wellens and Meeusen.

Peeters took the lead in the chase, then rode away from it, forcing Nys to drag him back. Boom and Stybar were having trouble matching the Landbouwkrediet rider’s pace.

With two laps remaining Albert was still chugging along, his head wagging from side to side. The chasers followed at 18 seconds. Peeters flicked an elbow for help, didn’t get it, and then sat up, forcing Nys to pull through. Boom was busted, 49 seconds down, and Pauwels was even further behind.

Wellens works it

Wellens was next to step up as Nys bobbled in a slippery U-turn, winding up at the tail end of the chase.

Hare and hounds all pitted, and Albert remained clear, with Wellens and Peeters sitting second and third while Stybar and Nys trailed by a handful of seconds.

Nys and Stybar were just three seconds down at the stairs, closer still at the flyover, and then finally regained the Telenets at the pump track, reforming the four-man chase.

But they were racing for second. Albert took a 31-second lead into the bell lap, which was a parade lap for the Belgian champ. Stybar and Nys would shell the Telenets to take second and third, but the top step of the podium was long gone.

Stay tuned for an expanded report and photos.

Quick results

• 1. Niels Albert (Bel), BKCP-Powerplus
• 2. Zdenek Stybar (Cze), Quick-Step
• 3. Sven Nys (Bel), Landbouwkrediet
• 4. Rob Peeters (Bel), Telenet-Fidea
• 5. Bart Wellens (Bel), Telenet-Fidea

Complete results

Vos (Nederland Bloeit), who has won six races this month, did it again at the tough, muddy Azencross, taking a solo victory in 43 minutes and six seconds. Runner-up Daphny Van Den Brand (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) didn’t hit the line until 1:17 later, followed by third-placed Sanne Cant (BOXX Veldritacademie) at 1:26.

American Christine Vardaros (Baboco-Revor) finished 19th.

Stay tuned for an expanded report and photos.

Quick results

• 1. Marianne Vos, Nederland Bloeit, 43:06
• 2. Daphny Van Den Brand, AA Drink-Leontien.nl Pro, 44:23
• 3. Sanne Cant, Boxx Veldritacademie, 44:32
• 4. Nikki Harris, VZW Young Telenet-Fidea, 44:36
• 5. Sophie De Boer, VZW Young Telenet-Fidea, 44:43

Complete results

Kevin Pauwels claims perhaps his most dramatic win of the season. Photo: Dan Seaton

ZOLDER, Belgium (VN) — Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor) proved best of a three-man break on Monday, taking the victory at Monday’s UCI World Cup and regaining the series lead.

Series leader Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet), world champion Zdenek Stybar (Quick Step) and Pauwels escaped the bunch with just over five laps to go in at Heusden-Zolder, then took turns trying to shed one another in the final few laps, without success.

With two laps remaining the trio had more than half a minute on a chase led by Lars Boom (Rabobank) and Belgian champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus).

Nys pitted for a fresh bike on the final go-round. Stybar took the front and pegged it, with Pauwels on his wheel. But Nys stayed with them, waiting for one or the other to make a mistake.

Stybar tried a few accelerations but couldn’t shed the others. Then he took the lead out of a corner with a muddy low line and a grassy high line and grabbed a small advantage going into the subsequent fast descent. In hot pursuit, Pauwels nearly laid it down, with Nys on his wheel, but the three were back together again at the course’s lone, steep run-up.

Stybar kept the pressure on, leading the trio on their final trip down a steep, technical drop-in ending in a left-hand corner, and all three hit the pavement together.

Unfortunately for Nys, he hit the pavement for real, sliding out in the final right-hand bend, leaving Stybar and Pauwels to fight it out for the win.

The world champ led out the sprint, but the persistent Pauwels slipped by at the line, leaving Stybar to pound one thigh in frustration.

Nys coasted across for third, in the process surrendering the World Cup lead to Pauwels. Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb) took fourth with Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) fifth.

Dare to win

Nys told a press conference that he knew that the he would have to take some risks to win, and simply hit the slippery pavement a bit too hard.

“To win here I knew I would need to be right on their wheel, in the big ring and with an 11 (tooth cog) in the back, just like in the start,” he said, adding that the endless finishing stretch set up an unusual finale today.

“I still had the power for the sprint, I wasn’t lost, and I had good sensations going into the end. I think it was possible to start the sprint in third position. But I just slipped out coming off the bridge.”

Nys, perhaps the best technical rider and tactician in cyclocross, seemed off his game for much of the day, and was hampered by mistakes and misjudgments more than once.

Still, he said, he felt like the dramatic conclusion was inevitable with both Stybar and Pauwels so clearly on top of their game.

“There was no way to avoid a sprint today, we could only get a gap of 15 meters, nothing more,” he said. “I was confident enough to let it be decided in a sprint. So I’m disappointed and frustrated, because I wanted to prove something. Before I was able to turn the pedals once I was on the ground.”

Stybar struggling

Stybar, for his part, said he executed his plan for the day well, but Pauwels was simply a bit stronger in the final moments.

“I’ve learned that I need to stay on the wheels to save some energy in these races,” said the world champion. “I succeeded until the sprint. I didn’t think during the race I could (stay in the lead group). In the sprint I thought I had a bigger gap, so I started a little too early. It was close, but he won. If it’s a meter or a centimeter, it doesn’t matter.”

Stybar, who has had a string of disappointing results going back to November, told reporters that he has struggled to figure out the best way to prepare for races. Finally, he said, he decided that he had to put his family first for the moment.

“After Friday’s race in Diegem I went home to the Czech Republic. It’s not ideal, but Christmas — and a day with my family — is more important than a World Cup.”

Pauwels, for whom the race was a return to his impressive early season form after several weeks of mixed results in difficult, muddy races, said he was pleased to beat a rider as strong as Stybar in conditions that didn’t completely favor him.

“I didn’t even know that Sven crashed because of the crowds,” said Pauwels, who will be back in the World Cup leader’s kit in Lieven, France, in three weeks time. “Stybar had a few meters, but not a lot and I quickly closed it.

“I’m well positioned in the classification, so I’m going to keep going for it. If the weather improves, that’s good for me; otherwise the following World Cups will be very difficult.”

Page, Johnson disappointed

American results, meanwhile, continued to be decidedly mixed. Jonathan Page (Planet Bike), who continues to show glimmers of good form after an uncharacteristically slow start to the season, led the contingent with a 25th-place finish.

The Belgian-based New Hampshire native, who rather expressively compared the slick, soupy course conditions to “riding through diarrhea,” spent much of the day caught in traffic in a group of riders that numbered close to 20 at times.

“I didn’t start bad,” he told VeloNews, “but the race is so fast, and things bunch up, and so I just kept getting into traffic. I always seemed to be the last guy in whatever group I was in. It didn’t really go my way today. The legs were okay — not great, but okay — I was just frustrated because it wasn’t really in my control.”

There was plenty of frustration to go around for the Americans. Tim Johnson (Cannoncalde-Cyclocrossworld.com), who spent most of his race trapped in the next group behind Page and ultimately finished 37th, said he was also disappointed with the day’s results — and the outcome of his whole European trip.

“It’s been a little bit of a mediocre trip. I was definitely looking for more than I got,” he said. “It was just a disaster at the start. I got stuck behind a couple little things in the first two corners, and then I was literally crashed into the pit the first time through.”

Johnson rebounded from the mess at the race’s start, but never quite managed to break through and get back into the race.

“I just didn’t have enough to make up for all that. You can make up time on a course like this by jumping group to group if you have good legs, but I just didn’t have the legs to do that today.

“But I’m still really optimistic about the next few weeks and nationals. I know what it takes for me to get going. This is a little bit of motivation for me as well.”

Behind the big American guns, Jeremy Durrin led a contingent of developing North American riders with a 52nd-place finish, just ahead of Canadian Craig Richey. Fellow Euro ’Cross Campers Ryan Knapp and Mitch Hoke took 54th and 56th.

Online editor at large Patrick O’Grady contributed to this report.

Zdenek Stybar gestures in frustration as Kevin Pauwels collects another win. Photo: Dan Seaton

Quick results

• 1. Kevin Pauwels (BEL) Sunweb-Revor, 1:03:44
• 2. Zdenek Stybar (CZE) Quickstep Cycling Team, same time
• 3. Sven Nys (BEL) Landbouwkrediet, at 0:20
• 4. Klaas Vantornout (BEL) Sunweb-Revor, at 0:32
• 5. Tom Meeusen (BEL) Telenet-Fidea, at 0:35

Complete results

For the fifth time in two weeks Marianne Vos shows why she wears the rainbow stripes. Photo: Dan Seaton

ZOLDER, Belgium (VN) — If there was any doubt that reigning world champion Marianne Vos remains the favorite to repeat for a fourth straight title, the 24-year-old Dutchwoman brushed them away on Monday with a decisive win over two countrywomen in the fifth round of the UCI World Cup.

The win — Vos’ fifth in a row since returning from a South African training trip in mid-December — was perhaps her first opportunity of the season to show has the form to match her technical prowess, as she powered away from World Cup leader Daphny Van Den Brand during the fourth of the race’s five laps.

Vos and Van Den Brand took over control of the race from early leader Helen Wyman near the end of the first lap. By the end of the second trip around the course, which blended long stretches of power riding on the Formula One track here with a series of steep, off-camber climbs and descents, the pair had built a lead of some 30 seconds over the trio of Sanne Cant, Sanne Van Paassen and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.

By the end of the third lap, the pair had stretched their lead to nearly a minute, and it was clear that the race belonged to the two Dutch riders. But Van Den Brand, who out-dueled Vos in the dunes of Koksijde during the third round of the World Cup, was overmatched on the fast, slick course. Though she matched Vos turn for turn in the more technical sections, she simply couldn’t summon the power to stay with the Olympic track gold medalist through the long, straight section of road that punctuated each lap of the race.

“Last week I was not good enough. I had problems with my lungs and I had a little bit of a cold,” Van Den Brand said afterwards. “So last week I kept my pulse high and you could see it in the race, I was eighth, and for me that wasn’t good. But today it was totally different. I was very good, but the last lap Marianne was better. Her condition is a bit better than my condition (right now).”

Van Den Brand and Vos pull away from the rest of the field. Photo: Dan Seaton

Despite Monday’s second-place finish and last week’s stumble in Namur, Van Den Brand was good enough to hang on to the overall lead in the World Cup standings. With only a single World Cup win this year, it is a lead she earned more through consistency than exceptional results — but in a year where few riders have even been able to be consistently good, let alone great, her slow and steady approach has been enough.

“I didn’t expect to be second before the race. But I think each week it’s getting better and better, so that’s (a good sign) for the world championships,” said Van Den Brand, who told reporters the World Cup lead is a bonus in a year when she has focused everything on winning a final world championship before retiring at the end of this season.

“The whole season, for every race, my only goal is the championship. You can’t pick everything, so you have to choose one thing. This is my last world championships and I hope it’ll be my race.”

Vos, meanwhile, said she was glad for a chance to test her legs in a more tactical race than those earlier in December.

“Today was something really different than the last few races,” she said afterwards. “They were all mud and pushing as hard as possible. Today was fast and, of course, a little technical with the descents. It was fun and it was good competition from Daphny. I knew I had a chance when I got a gap in the uphill section, and then use the fast section on the road to build an advantage.”

Katie Antonneau concentrates as she heads over the rim on a tough descent. Photo: Dan Seaton

Vos, like Van Den Brand, said the unusually muddy tests — even for Belgium — of this busy holiday season served as an excellent launching pad for the upcoming championship season.

“From my training on the road I always have the advantage when speed is important. I struggle more in the mud,” she said. “But recently I’ve gained some power there. But nothing is ever guaranteed in sports, and definitely not in cyclocross, so I can only hope to keep this form for the Dutch and world championships.”

While Vos and Van Den Brand traded jabs and hooks up front, a series of secondary tussles was unfolding behind them. Van Paassen was able to break open the race for third when a mechanical forced Cant into the pits. Though the Belgian champion would recover for a fourth-place finish, she failed to reconnect with Van Paassen, setting up an all-Netherlands podium and boosting Van Paassen into second in the World Cup overall.

Further back, 19-year-old American Katie Antonneau followed up her impressive 10th place finish last week with a 16th this week. Recovering from a slow start, she climbed at one point to within striking distance for a second top 10, riding in a big group racing behind the two big battles in the front.

Despite fading slightly near the end of the race, the rising star of American ‘cross said she was satisfied with the day’s efforts.

“That was a really hard race,” she said. “My goal was a top 15 again, and I was close for a little bit. But those last two laps really hurt. I was just hanging on. I started to get tired at the end of the race and started making some mistakes. I crashed twice on the downhills, but I rode as hard as I could and I’m mostly happy with the results.”

With national champion Katie Compton opting to skip Monday’s race in favor of training time at home in the United States, Antonneau’s was the top American result of the day.

Behind her, Europe-based Amy Dombroski, who has struggled in recent weeks, managed something of a return to form in 25th pace, while Maureen Bruno Roy and Christine Vardaros finished 27th and 28th respectively.

American Zach McDonald celebrates a big third place finish with a wheelie. Photo: Dan Seaton

Antonneau’s near top-15 was not the only American bright spot, however. Under-23 racer Zach McDonald took an impressive third place in a non-World Cup event earlier in the day.

McDonald spent most of the day dangling behind Belgians Witse Bosmans and Tim Merlier before fading into fourth with two laps to go. But McDonald managed to power his way back on to the podium in the final lap of the race, popping a celebratory wheelie on the finish line.

“I wouldn’t say I was at my strongest today,” said McDonald, who is one of several riders spending the holidays in Belgium as part of the American Euro ’Cross Camp. “So it was good to be able to kind of hammer it out and do my own thing for the race. Things will hopefully come around for January, for nationals and worlds now. I wouldn’t say I’m thrilled, but I’m definitely really happy with today’s result.”

Though several Americans will head home following Monday’s race, European cyclocross continues after just one day off with the fifth round of the GVA Trofee in Loenhout on Wednesday.

Quick results
Women

• 1. Marianne Vos (NED), Nederland Bloeit, at :39:45
• 2. Brand Daphny Van Den (NED), AA Drink-Leontien.nl Cycling Team, at 0:29
• 3. Sanne Van Paassen (NED), Brainwash Wielerploeg, at 1:11
• 4. Sanne Cant (BEL), Boxx Veldritacademie, at 1:21
• 5. Pauline Ferrand Prevot (FRA), Lapierre International, at 1:30
  • 1. Wietse Bosmans (Bel), 50:21
  • 2. Tim Merlier (Bel), 50:39
  • 3. Zach McDonald (USA), 51:10
  • 4. Laurens Sweeck (Bel), 51:14
  • 5. Jens Adams (Bel), 51:15

U23 men

Complete results

Sven Nys was positively jubilant as he crossed the finish line. Photo: Dan Seaton

NAMUR, Belgium (VN) — Sven Nys bounced back from Saturday’s DNF at the GP Rouwmoer to win a two-man battle with Niels Albert and take the lead in the UCI World Cup on Sunday at Namur.

Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) was off the front in the final lap, apparently bound for victory. But Nys (Landbouwkrediet) closed the gap and got the drop on the Belgian champion in the final corner, attacking past the pits and hitting the line first.

“It’s a really special race,” Nys told Belgian TV. “When you can win here, a World Cup, in these circumstances, it’s really something. When you can do one acceleration in the last climb, then you can win the race. It’s a good feeling.”

Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor) could manage only fourth on the day and lost the World Cup lead to Nys, who has 365 points to Pauwels’ 360. World champion Zdenek Stybar (Quick Step), fifth on the day, sits third with 305.

Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) was the top American in 25th place, nearly four minutes down. Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) finished 39th, with Troy Wells 52nd, Mitch Hoke 54th and Jeremy Durrin 62nd.

Mourey leads the way

Klaas Vantornout leads a big group through an especially technical section early in the race. Photo: Dan Seaton

The 2.74km circuit at Namur was a monster — one very steep run-up and a couple others less demanding; fast, precipitous descents; a nasty off-camber drop that caused trouble for nearly everyone; and — after a week of heavy rain and even a little snow — plenty of mud.

Francis Mourey (FDJ) took the early lead ahead of Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor), Elia Silvestri (Italy). Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) and Bart Aernouts (Rabobank-Giant). The five-man group had a little separation racing past the pits for the first time.

Silvestri took a digger on a long, muddy, off-camber descent, and Meeusen led Vantornout and Mourey up the next running section, then the next.

At the end of the first lap Aernouts had latched on with Rad Simunek (BKCP-Powerplus). Albert and Rob Peeters (Telenet) were leading a big chase just behind. There wasn’t much of a gap — and soon there was no gap at all, as a long line of 15-plus riders formed up.

Meeusen cleaned the off-camber descent next time through and Aernouts slotted into second with Vantornout third and Peeters moving forward. Meeusen punched it on a rideable climb and took a small lead that Vantornout closed with Peeters on his wheel.

With six laps to go the lead group was still huge and it was anybody’s race. Mourey drove onto the first climb past the start-finish with Vantornout chasing. The FDJ rider’s pace stretched the bunch out in a long, muddy line.

Vantornout replaced him up front, and then Meeusen took charge, leading the way down the off-camber.

Next time through the start-finish Aurelien Duval (UV Aube) had the point with Mourey second in an eight-man group that was getting some daylight.

Albert has a go

Runner-up Niels Albert makes his way up another tricky climb. Photo: Dan Seaton

Albert attacked on the first climb and Meeusen led the chase with Vantornout, Mourey and Pauwels. Nys and Stybar were slightly off the back.

The Belgian champion’s push forced the first real separation, and the second was not long in coming. Albert, Meeusen, Vantornout and Pauwels were off the front with Nys, Mourey, Stybar and Duval chasing.

Meeusen took the lead on the off-camber, which he had dialed in. Nys closed and attacked into second on the downside of the greasy slope, and coming out of it the eight-man group had reformed, though Duval was losing some steam as first Meeusen, then Nys pushed the pace.

With four laps remaining Nys led Vantornout, Meeusen, Albert, Mourey, Stybar and Pauwels. Duval was off the back and chasing.

Nys pushes pace

Nys powered up the first climb with Vantornout on his wheel. Meeusen sat third, followed by Albert, Pauwels, Stybar and Mourey.

Nys and Vantornout took a slight lead over the others as Meeusen let a gap open, and the two had perhaps four seconds as they raced onto a paved section past the pits and into a steep drop-off with a sweeping left turn at the bottom.

Stybar moved into third at the steep run-up. Nys led down the sketchy off-camber, and this time nearly everyone was off and running. Vantornout came off best, leading out of it and onto the next two runs with Nys and Stybar chasing, followed by Pauwels, Meeusen and Albert.

With three to go Vantornout, Stybar and Pauwels had a dozen seconds on Albert and Nys. The Sunweb rider drilled it on the climb, and then Stybar took over, while Pauwels sat on. Behind, Albert led Nys and Meeusen.

Stybar accelerated coming onto the paved section past the pits, taking a few bike lengths over the others, but Vantornout closed the gap at the run-up. Meanwhile, Albert, Nys and Meeusen finally caught back on.

Stybar shows himself

Zdenek Stybar was barely recognizable by the end of the race. Photo: Dan Seaton

The world champion led onto the off-camber, dismounting to run, as did Vantornout. Everyone else rode it, taking the low line, and Nys vaulted into third, chasing Stybar and Vantornout. Meeusen, Albert and Pauwels followed at four seconds, and then Pauwels lost the wheel.

With two laps remaining it was a five-man lead group: Stybar, Vantornout, Nys, Albert and Meeusen. Pauwels was a handful of seconds back and fighting to regain the bunch.

Nys took the lead, and Stybar marked him. Vantornout sat third, Albert fourth and Meeusen fifth, dangling a bit.

Stybar led onto the off-camber, taking the low line. Nys went high, stuffed it into the course tape, and dismounted to run.

The gaffe left Stybar with a slight lead on the following run-up. Nys closed the gap on the next, dragging the others with him, while Pauwels followed some five seconds down.

Bell lap, and Albert attacks

Stybar, Nys and Vantornout briefly distanced Albert and the others, but the Belgian champ got back on, and as the leaders heard the bell announcing last lap he attacked on the first climb.

Vantornout and Nys responded, but Stybar was gapped and Meeusen popped. Then Stybar lost more ground on the following descent and it was a three-man race.

Sven Nys stormed to a huge win, and the World Cup lead. Photo: Dan Seaton

Albert gassed it on the pavement leading to the pits and took a few bike lengths. Then he added to his advantage on the off-camber, riding it as the others ran. Nys was three seconds back and couldn’t quite bridge the gap. Meanwhile, Vantornout was finally running out of gas.

Nys finally fought back up to Albert, then attacked out of the final corner and took his own three-second lead over his rival. Albert couldn’t match his speed in the finale and Nys took the win and the World Cup lead.

Albert hung on for second, five seconds down. Vantornout finished third at 21 seconds with Pauwels fourth at 0:26 and Stybar fifth at 0:33.

For Nys, redemption

For Nys, frustrated after Saturday’s last-lap disaster, motivation was not a problem. The former Belgian champion threw his hands up emphatically on the line, clearly relieved to be back on track.

“I tried to make myself angry to try to lift myself beyond what normally would be possible,” Nys said in a post-race press conference. “In training I could not have ridden like that, but yesterday I would have loved to win and had bad luck. This win doesn’t necessarily make up for that, (but it helps).”

Nys added that, besides putting him in the lead in the World Cup, the win had additional significance due to difficulty of the course and depth of competition.

“The Belgian champion was here, and the world champion, UCI leader, and if all of the best in the world battle for the win, it’s worth more to me than a normal win,” he said. “And there was something sort of heroic about the race, because every second something could change. Days like this are why I became a cyclocross racer.”

Albert pleased with podium

Runner-up Albert, meanwhile, said he was pleasantly surprised with his second podium in as many attempts after being sidelined for nearly a month, victim of a broken arm after being hit by a car while training.

“I thought maybe I could manage a couple of sixth places or something like that this weekend, not that I’d be on the podium twice,” he said. “At the end I still had the ability to accelerate, and that’s something I haven’t always had in the past few months.

“In the end it was about details. I was able to accelerate once more, but in the end my sprint felt a little like I was standing still.”

Albert looked briefly to have the race in his control before Nys surged back in the final moments of the last lap. He said that, although he felt as strong as he has in months, he simply could not match Nys’ furious final charge.

“I looked back in the last lap and saw that Sven was still maybe 10 meters behind,” explained Albert, “but he had a big final sprint, and I couldn’t react. I was struggling a little on some of the downhills, so Sven was able to close the gap pretty easily. But you can see I haven’t been sitting around the past four weeks either.”

Page bounces back

American Jonathan Page continued to get stronger on Sunday. Photo: Dan Seaton

Meanwhile, Page continued his return to form, posting the best American result of the day in 25th place. The Planet Bike rider said an already poor start was aggravated by problems with his chain. So he spent much of the early laps working back through traffic in an effort to make up lost places.

Though he fell as deep as 40th at one point, Page came alive during the third lap, clawing his way forward a place at a time. He caught — and then dropped — fellow American Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) during the fifth of the race’s eight laps, and was closing in on 20th place when he was slowed by a flat tire that cost him several spots.

Nonetheless, Page said he was beginning to feel some real optimism after months of disappointing results.

“I wasn’t quite recovered from yesterday, but I could still push. It’s kind of baby steps for me right now. I wish I had gotten a little more out of myself, but I’m also happy that I got something. I was moving up consistently,” he said, before adding, with a laugh, “the problem was just that I went backwards for two laps in the beginning.”

Page said that he was happy to be racing once again in the kind of difficult conditions that suit him best.

American Tim Johnson sticks out a foot to help balance in the muck. Photo: Dan Seaton

“I don’t think there’s any comparison to any of the other races we’ve done this year,” he told VeloNews. “Yesterday was super muddy, but today was something else because it was muddy and super hilly. It’s just a hard, hard race. You just have to hold on for dear life, keep your wheel in the groove.”

Johnson, for his part, looked relatively strong early in the race, riding a bike with the disc brakes that have become something of a trademark for him. But he apparently suffered a flat tire during the race and never seemed to regain his footing, finishing a relatively distant 39th and looking perhaps a bit cold and uncomfortable. (Though, on a day when riders contended with mud, rain, snow and near freezing temperatures, he was hardly alone.)

Johnson declined a post-race interview, but later said via Twitter that he simply didn’t have the legs to finish the race strong.

Online editor at large Patrick O’Grady contributed to this story.

Quick results

• 1. Sven Nys (BEL), Landbouwkrediet, 1:03:04
• 2. Niels Albert (BEL), BKCP-Powerplus, at 0:05
• 3. Klaas Vantornout (BEL), Sunweb-Revor, at 0:21
• 4. Kevin Pauwels (BEL), Sunweb-Revor, at 0:26
• 5. Zdenek Stybar (CZE), Quick Step Cycling Team, at 0:32

Complete results

A muddy Marianne Vos celebrates her first World Cup win this season. Photo: Dan Seaton

NAMUR, Belgium (VN) — Though her rainbow stripes may have been hidden under a thick layer of mud for most of the day, Marianne Vos (Nederland Bloeit) reminded the world why she wears them with a resounding victory in what was almost certainly the most difficult races European cyclocross has seen this season.

On a roller-coaster course on the muddy slopes below the Citadel de Namur, Vos broke free from Lucy Chainel-Lefevre (France) early before powering solo to her first World Cup since returning to cyclocross a few weeks ago.

Chainel-Lefevre blasted almost directly into the lead of the race, leaving all but Vos to spin their wheels in the mud — some 30 seconds behind by the end of the first lap. But a well-timed move by the Dutchwoman on one of the course’s several steep, unrideable climbs, gave the world champion all the she needed to unleash the power that has earned her world and Olympic titles on the road and track. By the end of the second lap Vos had turned a four-second gap into a lead of nearly half a minute. And Vos never looked back.

Lucie Chainel-Lefevre leads the race down the first major descent. Photo: Dan Seaton

Meanwhile, behind Vos — in fact, behind everybody — was American Katie Compton, who suffered a mechanical immediately after the start. Compton picked her way through traffic on the first lap of the race and, by the second, found herself going wheel-to-wheel with Britain’s Helen Wyman in a battle for the final spot on the podium.

But Wyman, like much of the field, struggled with a particularly tricky off-camber section near the bottom of the course, and Compton was able to use her technical prowess to go clear.

As the American set off to chase Chainel-Lefevre, Wyman found herself again in danger from behind as Belgian champion Sanne Cant and Dutchwoman Sophie De Boer began to close in. Wyman would hold off the rising Dutch star, but could not match the Belgian, who took fourth on the day.

Kaitlin Antonneau cracked the top 10 in a World Cup for the first time. Photo: Dan Seaton

At the same time, a bit further back, another young rider, American Kaitlin Antonneau, was also having something of a breakout race. Dropping fearlessly down slopes that had clearly rattled more experienced riders, the 19-year-old Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com rider pulled off a 10th-place finish, perhaps the best result of her career and one of the best for any American woman not named Compton this year.

At the finish, shivering and muddy, Antonneau was nonetheless delighted with her breakout ride.

“I’m really happy,” she told VeloNews. “I really liked the course. It suited me well, I think. I like the mud and I had a good start, and I think that’s what helped me race so well.

“I pre-rode the course yesterday and I was nervous, because the drops — we don’t have anything like that at home. So the first couple of laps were exciting, but then I relaxed and it was good. I’m really happy with how it went and really proud. I’m so excited.”

Vos, the thrill of victory perhaps tempered by her familiarity with the top step of the podium, said she was gratified to have such a good result so early in her 2011 cyclocross campaign. She returned to Europe from a training trip to South Africa on Friday.

Katie Compton took all kinds of risks on her way to the podium. Photo: Dan Seaton

“But I actually enjoyed this today,” Vos said. “I didn’t think about the changes or where I’ve been. I come here, see the course and say, ‘Let’s go.’ This was one of the hardest races I’ve ever done, but it is what it is, you have to do it, it’s the same for everybody, so you just go.”

But she added that the time spent racing on the road this summer — and the recent training trip — all contributed to her success on Sunday.

“Uphill I wasn’t that much faster,” she said, explaining that it took her some time to find a way to break free from Chainel-Lefevre. “But because of my training on the road, when it was not so steep, but just turning on the power, I was much faster.”

Vos said that she was only sorry not to have the chance to test herself against Compton, who she sees as the greatest threat to her chances to repeat as world champion for a fourth straight year.

Compton, meanwhile, said she felt positive about her ride despite the mechanical.

“I’m happy that I could salvage a podium today,” she said. “I was dead last after dropping my chain at the start, so I was chasing from the get-go. I tried to go as hard as I could, but I lost so much time that first lap and they were fast. It’s hard to make up a minute in a ’cross race.”

“There wasn’t anything about that course that was easy,” Compton continued. “I really liked this race, I like the mud, but I’m disappointed by the bad start. These conditions were hard; it’s definitely true ’cross racing. You have to have technical skills and power and good legs. I feel like I’m in a good spot for good results in January, though.”

Three other Americans also started the race. Maureen Bruno Roy (Bob’s Red Mill-Seven Cycles), who made the trip to Belgium for Sunday’s race and next week’s World Cup in Zolder, finished 24th.

Maureen Bruno Roy had no trouble with the technical course. Photo: Dan Seaton

“It wasn’t a very good race for me,” she said. “It was a good course, I just didn’t race very well. It was like a mini mountain bike course, fun and challenging. But the first lap is so important, and if you make mistakes you can’t make it up.”

Christine Vardaros (Baboco) was 33rd, while Amy Dombroski (Crank Brothers) was forced to abandon the race.

With three rounds remaining, the Netherlands’ Daphny Van Den Brand (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) maintains her lead in the World Cup standings despite a disappointing eighth place finish Sunday. Compton sits in second with 150 points to Van Den Brand’s 176, while Chainel-Lefevre’s excellent ride leaves her third, eight points behind Compton.

The World Cup continues one week from Monday in Zolder.

Stay tuned for more photos.

Quick results

• 1. Marianne Vos (NED), Nederland Bloeit, at :36:53
• 2. Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (FRA), at 0:54
• 3. Katherine Compton (USA), Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team, at 1:11
• 4. Sanne Cant (BEL), Boxx Veldritacademie, at 1:40
• 5. Helen Wyman (GBR), Kona Factory Racing, at 1:44

Complete results

Bart Wellens celebrates as he wins the GP Rouwmoer Essen. Photo: Peter Deconinck | AFP

Fortune finally smiled on Bart Wellens during a spectacularly muddy GP Rouwmoer at Essen on Saturday.

The Telenet-Fidea rider seemed assured of a podium finish in the GVA Trofee race, sitting second behind Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) with just over a lap to race.

But Nys blew up his drivetrain just short of the bell lap and trudged off the course, disgusted, his day done.

That’s when Wellens rode past and into the lead. He led Belgian champion Niels Albert (BKCP-PowerPlus) by 15 seconds going into the final lap and kept churning through the muck to victory.

As he hit the paved finishing stretch Wellens was shaking his head in disbelief. He scraped some of the mud from his jersey, then kissed his fingertips and threw both hands in the air as he coasted across the line.

A weary Albert took second at 25 seconds down, a solid result in his comeback following an extended absence due to injury. Rob Peeters (Telenet) crossed third at 39 seconds. Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor) finished fourth at 1:05 with Tom Meeusen (Telenet) fifth at 1:12.

Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) was the top American in 15th at 3:33.

Into the soup

Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) led the men off the line and into a soupy bog that quickly set the field afoot. Once back on the bike, world champion Zdenek Stybar (Quick Step) briefly took the lead before Vantornout slipped past. It was the last time the rainbow jersey would be seen near the front — Stybar finished 14th and said via Twitter that he was “shamed” by his performance.

There was plenty of running on the 2.7km circuit, which was rich in obstacles —deep bogs, small lakes, several Z-shaped hairpin sections, a couple of staircases and short, steep, barely rideable climbs. Some riders were pitting twice each go-round, and anyone standing too close to the course tape got sprayed.

Vantornout led Wellens, Albert and Stybar by four seconds after the first trip up the long staircase. Going into lap two he had six seconds over Albert and Wellens, with Meeusen leading a big chase at 15 seconds. Nys was 20 seconds down but moving up.

Just past the start-finish Albert and Wellens joined Vantornout and promptly shelled him. Albert set the pace and Wellens caught his wheel.

Nys emerged from the chaos behind to slot into third, and at the end of the second lap was just a handful of seconds behind the two leaders. He caught them going into the Z-sections, but Albert accelerated and briefly left the Landbouwkrediet man dangling. Behind, Peeters and Pauwels had formed a two-man chase.

With four laps to go Wellens led Nys and Albert through the start-finish with Pauwels and Peeters some 17 seconds behind.

Wellens attacks

Then the Telenet rider punched it, leaving Albert and Nys to chase. All three men pitted and Albert came off worst in the exchange, as Wellens led Nys by four seconds going into the Z-sections with the Belgian champion a few seconds further back.

With three laps to go, Albert was six seconds down on the two leaders. Peeters was at 16 seconds with Pauwels at 22.

Then Nys laid down what appeared to be the winning move. He quickly took eight seconds over Wellens going past the puts. All three men could see each other — or they could, if Nys chose to look back. He did not.

As usual Nys seemed to get stronger as the race wore on. Neither Wellens nor Albert would surrender, though, and with two laps to go Wellens was six seconds down, on Nys and four seconds ahead of Albert.

From leader to DNF

Nys appeared to be heading toward yet another victory — and then disaster struck. In a soupy section he glanced down at his drivetrain, dismounted for a closer look at what proved to be irreparable damage, and then strode off the course, not bothering to watch Wellens ride past and into the lead.

When he got the bell for last lap Wellens had a comfortable 15-second advantage over Albert with Peeters chasing solo at 38 seconds.

He stayed focused, made no mistakes, and hit the finishing stretch alone, grinning and wagging his head in disbelief.

It was an emotional victory for the former world champion, who said afterward he never dreamed of taking the top step on the podium.

“I must thank many people — too many, really,” Wellens said. “The team, my family — everyone believed in me.”

Belgian champion Albert likewise was happy with his runner-up finish after four weeks away from racing with an injured wrist and was looking forward to Sunday’s World Cup in Namur.

Albert said he had hoped for a place in the top 10, and dreamed of finishing top-five, and thus was delighted with second — “well, actually third, because Nys was unfortunate,” he said. “But I’m very content with my performance.”

Pauwels continues to lead the GVA Trofee series with 98 points. Stybar is second with 77 and Meeusen third with 67.

Vos takes women’s race

Marianne Vos (Nederland Bloeit) soloed to victory in the women’s race, taking the win in 42:17.

VZW Telenet-Fidea teammates Sophie De Boer and Nikki Harris finished second and third at 1:00 and 1:22 down.

Maureen Bruno Roy was the top American in 10th at 5:50. Countrywoman Christine Vardaros (Baboco-Revor) finished 13th at 7:15.

Quick results
Men

• 1. Bart Wellens, Telenet-Fidea
• 2. Niels Albert, BKCP-Powerplus
• 3. Rob Peeters, Telenet-Fidea
• 4. Kevin Pauwels, Sunweb-Revor
• 5. Tom Meeusen, Telenet-Fidea

Women

• 1. Marianne Vos, Nederland Bloeit, 42:17
• 2. Sophie De Boer, VZW Telenet-Fidea, 43:17
• 3. Nikki Harris, VZW Telenet-Fidea, 43:39
• 4. Helen Wyman, Kona-FSA, 44:17
• 5. Daphny Van Den Brand, AA Drink-Leontien.nl, 44:50

Complete results

Jeremy Powers made it two in a row on Sunday as he swept the weekend's racing in Bend and took home the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross title. Photo: Photo: Wil Matthews | www. wilmatthewsphoto.com

BEND, Oregon (VN) — Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus) wrapped up a winning weekend in Bend on Sunday, taking the final race of the Deschutes Brewery Cup weekend and confirming his 2011 Exergy U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross title.

The win was redemption for Powers, who caught flak for celebrating too early in his Saturday triumph when Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) nearly overtook him at the line.

After a four-man lead group became two with slightly over three laps to go, when Garmin-Cervélo’s Danny Summerhill hit the deck, the race boiled down to a two-man contest between Powers and Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale).

It would be no contest — Powers shot around Driscoll with two laps to race and that was all she wrote. He rode his own race to the line, and had plenty of time to organize an interruption-free victory celebration.

Kaboom goes Kabush

Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) got off to a strong start, leading early ahead of Ben Berden (Ops Ale-Stoemper) and putting a big gap on a long line of riders as the field ran through the barriers for the first time.

Usually a more tempered starter, Kabush said that with the fast Bend course and no teammates, he felt he needed to jump out early and allow the Rapha and Cannondale squads to work out the tactics behind him.

“That was like cross-eyed hard. It was ridiculous,” said Driscoll. “Usually he’s the kind of guy who just looks around and gets you when you’re fading towards the end.”

At the flyover Kabush had 10 seconds on the chase, headed by Summerhill and including day-one rivals Powers and Johnson. The chase was 10 seconds back at the start-finish as the Canadian rocketed into lap two.

“It was really, really fast and I definitely yesterday felt the effort in my legs,” said Powers. “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to bring it back.”

Kabush lost a bit of ground on lap two and the chase closed to within five seconds. Powers, Johnson, Summerhill, Driscoll and Chris Jones (Rapha) were breathing down his neck next time across the barriers, and at the flyover Johnson was leading the pursuit a handful of seconds down.

Johnson dumps it

Heading into lap three Kabush clung to a three-second gap when disaster struck for Johnson. A winner on the Bend course at the national championships in 2009, Johnson took over the chase and attacked the group heading onto a section of winding, sandy singletrack. He lost his front wheel leaving a stretch of pavement and went down.

“I had that corner dialed,” he said. “I had just attacked and I was about to catch Geoff and I just dumped it. Stupid move.”

Powers and Summerhill took up the pursuit ahead of Driscoll and Jones, closing to within five seconds on the stairs. The four-man chase was right on Kabush’s heels with six laps to go. Johnson crossed 22 seconds down.

Midway through the lap Kabush got company. Summerhill was on his best day of the ’cross season — on the last day of his ’cross season — and dragged the chase up to him with Powers sitting third wheel.

But the Canadian didn’t cave. He stayed on the front, leading the five-man group across the barriers and up and down the flyover, with Summerhill matching his speed. Johnson had latched onto the U23 heavyweight chase group with Zach McDonald (Rapha), Yannick Eckmann (Pearl Izumi-Shimano), Cody Kaiser (Cal Giant-Specialized) and Tristan Schouten (Cycloracing.com-Blue), but the leaders were 14 seconds ahead as Summerhill led the front group across the line and into five laps to go.

Kaiser crashes

Suddenly Johnson was gone — and so were Eckmann’s hopes for the U23 series title. Kaiser went down in a banked, 180-degree corner that separated two high-speed asphalt straightaways and split the chase group in half. Johnson and McDonald snuck through, but the 18-year-old German national did not.

Behind Eckmann, Kaiser, third in the espoir standings, shouldered his bike and began a run, his rear derailleur hanging by the cable, over half of the course.

“What happened there was everyone just came together and hooked. There’s nothing you can do,” said McDonald. “It’s kind of depressing for everybody.”

Up front, Summerhill was still on the front with Kabush second wheel, Driscoll third and Powers fourth as the lap wound on. The elastic popped for Jones in the singletrack on the backside of the course and soon he was off the back, seven seconds behind at the stairs. Johnson was down 22 seconds.

With four to go the four-man lead group was solid. Summerhill was looking for help, and he got it — Driscoll took the front, and when Summerhill washed out his wheel and hit the deck the Cannondale rider was off the front with Powers chasing. Kabush slammed into the back of Summerhill and was hung up. He remounted and resumed the chase with Jones, while the Garmin man was left running to the pits and out of the running.

“I don’t know if Danny went down first or he got the worst of the tangling, but I just kind of instinctively just hit it as hard as I could when I saw that I had a gap,” said Driscoll.

And then there were two

Driscoll was a few bike lengths up on Powers at the barriers while Kabush and Jones chased a dozen seconds down. Powers held his fire over the flyover, then punched it on the pavement and grabbed Driscoll’s wheel, forging a two-man lead group with three laps to race.

Kabush was stuck with Jones for company — the Rapha man was not about to help the Canadian catch his teammate, and the two were dangling about eight seconds behind the leaders. At the barriers the gap was 13 seconds.

Series leader Powers, meanwhile, was in the driver’s seat. He had the USGP title locked and the legs to win, and sat back as Driscoll set the pace. Their gap established, the leaders backed off slightly for a lap, Powers tucked into the wheel.

Until they hit the line for two laps to go, that is. That’s where Powers gassed it, sweeping around the Cannondale rider to the left and into the lead.

“James made a couple of dabs and I thought, ‘Well, I better have a try,’ with two to go,” said Powers. “It’s really the only place to throw down that’s wide enough. … I picked this spot because I felt most comfortable and had the most space.”

Powers knew the finish straight was where he had to make his move, but the acceleration caught Driscoll off guard and turned out to be the deathblow.

“I was honestly not expecting it, but you know he is a bike racer and it’s bound to happen. It only made sense that he was sitting on me just ’cause Jones was in the group behind,” said Driscoll.

“He’s obviously super strong, so on top of me pulling for that lap or two, it was going be a miracle to let me be able to like get on his wheel and recover when he wanted to make his move.”

Powers punches it

At midlap Powers had a few bike lengths over Driscoll, and then he ramped it up, accelerating over a false flat and along the long stretch into the barriers. He took a four-second lead, added another second at the stairs, and as the bell for the final lap rang out he had another.

Driscoll looked like a man whose low-fuel light had just clicked on as he rolled into bell lap. Powers, meanwhile, was on cruise control, carving the corners, punching the climbs and extending his lead over the Cannondale chaser.

He had 12 seconds at the stairs and plenty of time to throw his finish-line party. With room to breathe, Powers pumped his right fist harder than usual and let out a yell before he crossed the line. The day after his inbox filled with outcry over his early celebration, Powers was back on top.

“Yesterday didn’t feel right. I felt embarrassed and pissed that I put my hands up too early,” he said. “Today feels like redemption for me.”

Driscoll followed nine seconds later for second place, with Kabush third at 22 seconds. After an up-and-down season that has been short on the results Driscoll expected, he said he would carry new confidence out of Bend.

“I definitely surprised myself because I didn’t feel that good in the warm-up,” said Driscoll. “I was planning on laying it all out there yesterday to try to get the best result I could for the weekend; but obviously I’m very, very pleased with my results this weekend.”

Back on the infield of the course, McDonald was pressing to hold onto 10th place with Eckmann 45 seconds behind him. Whichever rider took the top spot on the day would take the series title.

McDonald takes U23 title

In the end, the Rapha rider was able to hang on, with Eckmann trailing in for 11th overall and second in the espoir division.

Both sponsored by Focus Bikes, McDonald and Eckmann are friends outside of the course tape and the series winner said the title was bittersweet.

“I’m not exactly happy to win that way,” said McDonald. “I had to kind of justify it based on for us it’s been whoever has had the least shitty luck this season. … I mean, we’ve each had terrible races.”

Powers was more satisfied with his win and walked away with a carbon-fiber crown and a stack of series champion’s jerseys.

“I’m just really, really proud and happy,” he said. “It hasn’t come overnight; I’ve been working really hard at it for so long. If today I hadn’t won I would have been fine, but today it just felt right, it felt really good to win here.”

Editor-at-large Patrick O’Grady and David Boerner contributed to this report.

Quick results

• 1. Jeremy Powers (USA), Rapha-Focus, 1:00:41
• 2. James Driscoll (USA), Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com, s.t.
• 3. Geoff Kabush (CAN), Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain, at 0:23
• 4. Christopher Jones (USA), Rapha-Focus, s.t.
• 5. Christian Heule (SUI), Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com, s.t.

Complete results

Katerina Nash showed a clean pair of heels to the field once again en route to winning a second consecutive day in Bend and collecting the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross title. Photo: Wil Matthews | www. wilmatthewsphoto.com

BEND, Oregon (VN) — Katerina Nash (Luna) did the double in Bend on Sunday, sweeping the Deschutes Brewery Cup weekend and taking home the 2011 Exergy U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross title.

It is not often in racing that all three of the podium finishers leave happy, but that is exactly what happened Sunday after Nicole Duke and Teal Stetson-Lee rounded out the top prizes.

In a more aggressive opener than Saturday, Duke (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) took the holeshot, but once again Nash quickly took the race by the horns, riding Duke and the rest of the field off her wheel and setting her own tempo to the finish.

Duke settled into a chase with Stetson-Lee (Cal Giant-Specialized), but they were racing for second — a race that Duke won on the final lap, putting a little daylight between her and Stetson-Lee and finishing eight seconds behind Nash. Stetson-Lee hung on for her second third-place finish of the weekend.

Krasniak kicks it early

Julie Krasniak (Rapha-Focus) took the lead early in the first lap. Nash was there, with Stetson-Lee right on their heels at the barriers, but teammate Meredith Miller was nowhere to be seen as the first lap came to a close — she had flatted right at the start and had to hit the pits.

A four-woman lead group went into the second lap. Nash took the front with Duke on her wheel. Stetson-Lee was a few bike lengths back, with Krasniak behind her. Mo Bruno-Roy (Bob’s Red Mill) and Coryn Rivera (Exergy 2012) swapped fifth place, a long ways back.

Nash continued accelerating, but Duke stuck to her. Krasniak struggled on the staircase, but Stetson-Lee was still in striking distance as the second lap came to an end — and suddenly Nash punched it on the pavement and was off and on her own.

Three laps to go. Nash hit the deck on the dry, hard circuit but got up and back after it, blood dripping from her right knee. Duke and Stetson-Lee didn’t get much benefit from the bobble, though — they were still seven seconds back at the barriers, with the second chase another seven seconds back.

The gap held steady as the women hit the stairs, and Nash raced through the start-finish with seven seconds’ advantage and two laps to go. Duke and Stetson-Lee were 12 seconds behind Nash at the barriers.

A determined Duke

Duke looked strong and after Saturday’s bitter disappointment at the hands of a final-lap broken derailleur, the former gravity racer appeared poised to close down on the now-former Czech national champion (Nash missed her title defense this weekend).

“I even had Katerina in mind up there toward the end and thought I could get close to her, but there just wasn’t enough time,” said Duke. “I didn’t realize my body had it until the last lap when I tried to push away from Teal.”

Bell lap: Nash had 12 seconds over the Duke-Stetson-Lee chase.

As they passed through the start/finish, Duke slowed and lurched wide to urge Stetson-Lee to pull through, but Saturday’s third-place finisher refused.

“I didn’t want to be pulling her around like I did yesterday,” said Stetson-Lee. “I still have quite a bit to learn about tactics and my own ability, where I’m going to be strongest as far as making a move or attacking.”

Behind them, Krasniak was a half-minute down, with Kaitlin Antonneau (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) at 45 seconds.

Stetson-Lee doffs hat to Duke

Stetson-Lee’s tactical gamble would fail her two minutes later when Duke put the hammer down in the winding, sandy singletrack on the backside of the course and took a slight gap. She widened it at the barriers.

“She just had some amazingly smooth lines and I just made the slightest mistakes, just not quite as smooth as she was, and that’s where the gap started opening up,” said Stetson-Lee. “I think she could feel the gap and then she just hammered it.”

Nash was ultimately out of reach, eight seconds up the track, but Duke wasn’t waiting around for the Cal Giant rider. Second place would do just fine.

“On that last lap she just out-rode me; just flat-out out-rode me,” said Stetson-Lee.

Duke had four seconds on Stetson-Lee going up the stairs. But Nash was already on the pavement and took her second consecutive win — plus the overall title. Duke followed for second at eight seconds back with Stetson-Lee third at 11. Krasniak finished fourth at 35 seconds while Antonneau rounded out the top five at 54 seconds down.

Nash won five of eight stops on the USGP this year and walked away from Bend in the position she entered — a distant series champion.

“One mistake and the lead is gone,” she said. “You’re probably never going to see me walking across the finish line or anything silly like that.”

As for Duke, she felt redemption after her hard luck on Saturday had her near tears on the turbo trainer after the race.

“My heart and soul was in that race, for sure,” she said. “Today I feel like I finally got the placing where my fitness was and all the training I’ve put into it and my team. I’m really pleased with myself.”

Online editor at large Patrick O’Grady contributed to this report.

Quick results

• 1. Katerina Nash, Luna Pro Team, 37:24
• 2. Nicole Duke, Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com, 37:33
• 3. Teal Stetson-Lee, Cal Giant-Specialized, 37:36
• 4. Julie Krasniak, Rapha-Focus, 37:59
• 5. Kaitlin Antonneau, Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com, 38:18

Complete results