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Cyclo-Cross World Cup #7 - CDM

Zolder, Belgium, December 26, 2008

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Race 4 - December 26: Elite Men, 65 minutes

Al motors away for unexpected result

By Brecht Decaluwé in Zolder, Belgium

Thijs Al in the setting sun
Photo ©: Cyclingnews.com
(Click for larger image)

The Flemish crowd at the World Cup round in Zolder, Belgium, witnessed an unexpected situation in the with a four-man move lacking the sport's big names. Former mountain biker Thijs Al powered from the move on the final lap held partly on the Formula 1 circuit to win his first ever World Cup over Kevin Pauwels and Sven Vanthourenhout.

"I can't believe what I just pulled off," Al said. "You know that you're in front with two [potential winners] so I had to do something. I was in a bad position during the last lap, but then I could move up and attack the dangerous downhill, offering me a couple of metres. I was able to hold that until the finish line."

World Champion Lars Boom finished fourth and World Cup leader Sven Nys was sixth.

Three laps into the race it seemed like the race would end in a bunch sprint as more than twenty riders were still riding together along the auto circuit. Suddenly Radomir Simunek and Simon Zahner collided and blocked the rest of the group, thus offering a small gap to Sven Vanthourenhout, Marco Aurelio Fontana and eventual winner Al. Only Kevin Pauwels was able to bridge up to the leaders, and when World Champion Lars Boom started pacing the chase group like a safety car, the gap suddenly ran up to half a minute.

Fontana crashed out of the leading group, and it was up to Dutchman Al to try his hand at opening a small gap in the final lap to avoid the sprint. His late attack proved successful, leaving the two Belgians with nothing but grief. "I thought I was in the perfect position as I had Pauwels on my wheel when we reached the downhill, but suddenly he [Al] sneaked past us when we didn't expect it. Thijs had a couple of metres and that was it," Vanthourenhout said.

Pauwels explained that he made a crucial mistake and lost contact in the final kilometre. "I had to set foot on the ground. I hoped to come back and finish close, but coming on the finishing straight I knew the gap was too big. I'm disappointed," said Pauwels.

The Zolder men's podium:
Photo ©: Cyclingnews.com
(Click for larger image)

Meanwhile Boom was happy to see that his compatriot Al finished the job. "We're not team-mates but we get along," Boom said with a smile on his face. "Didn't Nys have his friend in front as well," Boom referred to Belgian Vanthourenhout. "Personally, I rode a good race on a course that didn't suit me well." Boom eventually finished solo in fourth position after a late attack early on in the final lap.

World Cup leader Sven Nys finished sixth but the Belgian wasn't too happy with today's race. The start procedure got messed up as the Sporza crew was still standing in front of the riders when the green start light went on. "I wasn't concentrated as the camera man was still standing in front of us," Nys said. "Then I was hesitating whether to attack and battle for the victory or focus on defending my lead in the World Cup ranking. Meanwhile Lars preferred to have somebody else win the race rather than having us battle for the win. It was impossible to work together with Boom," Nys said.

The North American riders in the race weren't able to profit from Boom's slow pacing. James Driscoll was the first US finisher. The 22 year-old overtook US champion Ryan Trebon in the final laps and finished twenty sixth. Jonathan Page didn't take the start in the seventh round of the UCI's World Cup, as he has not yet returned to Europe after racing in the national championships.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Cyclingnews.com

Images by Niels De Wit/www.nielsdewit.be

Results

1 Thijs Al (Ned) BeOne - Chain Reaction Cycles                  1.02.10
2 Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team                           0.02
3 Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb Projob Cycling Team             0.08
4 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank                                         0.22
5 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Fidea Cycling Team                           0.24
6 Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner                          
7 Bart Wellens (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team                            0.29
8 Radomír Šimunek (Cze) Palmans - Cras                             0.32
9 Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank                                     0.38
10 Wilant van Gils (Ned) Pro Cycling Team ZZPR.nl-Destil-Merida    0.39
11 Niels Albert (Bel) Palmans - Cras                               0.41
12 Steve Chainel (Fra) French National Team                        0.48
13 Christian Heule (Swi) Swiss National Team                           
14 Simon Zahner (Swi) Swiss National Team                              
15 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Italian National Team               0.51
16 Marco Bianco (Ita) L'Arcobaleno Carraro Team                    0.53
17 Kamil Ausbuher (Cze) Exe Jeans                                  0.58
18 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) AA Drink - Be One                     1.07
19 Jonathan Lopez (Fra) French National Team                       1.22
20 Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Prodoli Racing Team                       1.27
21 Gerben de Knegt (Ned) Rabobank                                  1.28
22 Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Palmans - Cras                      1.32
23 Martin Bína (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor                       1.41
24 Nicolas Bazin (Fra) French National Team                        2.11
25 Erwin Vervecken (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team                        2.15
26 James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com             2.16
27 Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona                                          2.41
28 Eddy van Ijzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink - BeOne                      2.49
29 David Kášek (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor                       2.50
30 Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Van Vliet EBH Elshof                      
31 David Derepas (Fra) Groupe gobert.com.ct                        2.51
32 Bram Schmitz (Ned)                                                  
33 Milan Barenyi (Svk) CK ŽP Šport As                              3.00
34 Petr Dlask (Cze) Fidea Cycling Team                             3.01
35 Troy Wells (USA) Clif Bar                                       3.20
36 Jeremy Powers (USA) Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com              3.26
37 Fabio Ursi (Ita) Italian National Team                          3.29
38 Jempy Drucker (Lux) Fidea Cycling Team                          3.51
39 Joachim Parbo (Den) CCV Cyclo Cross Team                        3.52
40 Julien Belgy (Fra) French National Team                         3.53
41 Matt Shriver (USA) Jittery Joe's                                3.56
42 Mariusz Gil (Pol)                                               4.06
43 Peter Presslauer (Aut) Volksbank - Corratec                     4.21
44 Robert Glajza (Svk) CK ŽP Šport A.S. Podbrezová                 4.25
45 Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Het Snelle Wiel                       4.32
46 Brian Matter (USA) Gear Grinder                                 4.46
47 Martin Haring (Svk) Ck Žp Šport Podbrezová                      4.48
48 Kiichi Tsujiura (Jpn)                                           4.56
49 Aaron Schooler (Can)                                            6.53
50 Tommy Nielsen (Den)                                             7.13

One lap behind
51 Derrick St John (Can)                                               

Two laps behind
52 Molly Cameron (USA)                                                 

Standings after seven rounds

1 Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner                      475 pts
2 Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team                           393
3 Bart Wellens (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team                            392
4 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Fidea Cycling Team                           362
5 Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink - BeOne                                  321
6 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank                                         306
7 Radomír Šimunek (Cze) Palmans - Cras                             304
8 Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb Projob Cycling Team             294
9 Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank                                     290
10 Erwin Vervecken (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team                        286
11 Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb Projob Cycling Team               285
12 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) AA Drink - Be One                     272
13 Gerben de Knegt (Ned) Rabobank                                  271
14 Niels Albert (Bel) Palmans - Cras                               260
15 Martin Bína (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor                       236
16 Christian Heule (Swi) Rendementhypo Cycling Team                235
17 Francis Mourey (Fra) Française Des Jeux                         224
18 Wilant van Gils (Ned) Pro Cycling Team ZZPR.nl-Destil-Merida    213
19 Petr Dlask (Cze) Fidea Cycling Team                             206
20 Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Differdange Apiflo Vacances                 189
21 Rob Peeters (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner                178
22 Simon Zahner (Swi) Bürgis Cycling Team                          168
23 Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Prodoli Racing Team                       158
24 Kamil Ausbuher (Cze) Exe Jeans                                  154
25 Marco Bianco (Ita) L'Arcobaleno Carraro Team                    146
26 Eddy van IJzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink - BeOne                      137
27 Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Palmans - Cras                      135
28 Jonathan Lopez (Fra) V.C.La Pomme Marseille                     132
29 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Selle Italia Guerciotti Elite       129
30 Steve Chainel (Fra) Auber 93                                    124
31 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas                                   116
32 Mariusz Gil (Pol)                                               112
33 Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Van Vliet EBH Elshof                   97
34 Fabio Ursi (Ita) Centro Sportivo Esercito                        91
35 Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike                                  82
36 Milan Barenyi (Svk) CK ŽP Šport As                               82
37 Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Het Snelle Wiel                        81
38 Johannes Sickmueller (Ger)                                       73
39 Vladimír Kyzivát (Cze) Johnson Controls AŠ MB                    73
40 Jaroslav Kulhavý (Cze) Michelin - Specialized MTB Team           70
41 Julien Belgy (Fra) Bouygues Télécom                              64
42 David Kášek (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor                        62
43 Joachim Parbo (Den) CCV Cyclo Cross Team                         62
44 Vaclav Metlicka (Svk) Team Kral R.C. Pfeil Hof E.V               61
45 Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Spa) Povoa Cycling Club           60
46 Rafael Visinelli (Ita) Gruppo Sportivo Forestale                 59
47 Roy Van Heeswijk (Ned)                                           59
48 Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Tower Sports - VC Eschenbach              58
49 Aurelien Duval (Fra) Française Des Jeux                          56
50 Pirmin Lang (Swi) Delta Elite Team                               49
51 David Derepas (Fra) Groupe Gobert.Com.Ct                         43
52 Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona                                           42
53 Gusty Bausch (Lux) VC Diekirch                                   42
54 Robert Glajza (Svk) CK ŽP Šport A.S. Podbrezová                  42
55 René Birkenfeld (Ger) Stevens Racing Team                        39
56 Oscar Vazquez Crespo (Spa) Aquagest Club Ciclista                35
57 Jempy Drucker (Lux) Fidea Cycling Team                           33
58 Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Palmans - Cras                           32
59 Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles                                 32
60 Martin Haring (Svk) Ck Žp Šport Podbrezová                       29
61 Geoffrey Clochez (Fra) Bleus de France                           28
62 Paul Voss (Ger)                                                  27
63 James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com              27
64 Isaac Suarez Fernandez (Spa)                                     25
65 Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa)                                   22
66 Laurent Colombatto (Fra) Amicale Cycliste Bisontin               21
67 Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa)                            21
68 Bram Schmitz (Ned)                                               19
69 Magnus Darvell (Swe) Rietumu Bank-Riga                           18
70 Peter Presslauer (Aut) Volksbank - Corratec                      18
71 Troy Wells (USA) Clif Bar                                        16
72 José Antonio Díez Arriola (Spa) Construcciones Navajeda          16
73 Alessandro Gambino (Ita) Gruppo Sportivo Esercito                16
74 Jeremy Powers (USA) Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com               15
75 LukᚠKloucek (Cze) Sunweb Projob Cycling Team                   15
76 David Juarez Alday (Spa) Ibaigane Opel                           14
77 Florian Le Corre (Fra) Super Sport 35 ACNC                       13
78 Andre Sutton (Can) Hardcore Cycling Club                         13
79 Martin Gujan (Swi)                                               12
80 Matt Shriver (USA) Jittery Joe's                                 10
81 Jody Crawforth (GBr) Arctic Premier                              10
82 Luca Damiani (Ita)                                                7
83 Gerald Hauer (Aut)                                                6
84 Brian Matter (USA)                                                5
85 Adam Myerson (USA) Time Pro Cycling                               5
86 Julien Pion (Fra)                                                 4
87 Keiichi Tsujiura (Jpn)                                            3
88 Andreas Moser (Swi) Team Hörmann-Kramer                           3
89 Thomas Puhmer (Aut) Team Sport Nora                               3
90 Aaron Schooler (Can)                                              2
91 Stefano Boggia (Ita) GS Daccordi                                  2
92 Tommy Nielsen (Den)                                               1
93 Derrick St John (Can)                                             1
94 Julien Laidoun (Fra) SCO Dijon                                    1

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