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Cyclo-Cross World Cup #8 - CDM
Roubaix, France, January 18, 2009
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Race 4 - January 18: Elite Men, 65 minutes
Vervecken unbeatable on vélodrome
Overall win in World Cup for Nys
By Brecht Decaluwé in Roubaix, France
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Veteran Erwin Vervecken continued his string of wins at the legendary vélodrome in Roubaix by claiming the win at today's French World Cup round. The former world champion won ahead of Czech champion Zdenek Stybar and Belgian champion Sven Nys. Despite his age of 36, it seems as if the Belgian is having his best season ever. Nys gathered enough points to secure the overall win in the UCI's World Cup.
At the Roubaix vélodrome Vervecken claims he has never been beaten. "It's my fifth race here and it's a perfect course for me. I won the Paris-Roubaix VTT in 1997, won the 'cross race three times and two years ago I lost the sprint by less than one centimeter," Vervecken said, referring to the close sprint with Gerben De Knegt.
"I've had to wait until I was 29 years old to capture my first World Cup victory. This year it's the first time I've won two World Cup rounds in one season," Vervecken said. "I'm especially happy for my sponsor because I can give him such a victory after only such a short amount of time at the team." Vervecken moved from the big Fidea team to the somewhat smaller Revor team less than three weeks ago on January 1.
The race started with a cannonball start for new father Bart Wellens. Only five riders were able to follow the pace of the Belgian, with favorites Sven Nys and Niels Albert riding in a second group. "I wasn't in trouble but I didn't have the power to move up. One by one riders started to drop back, probably because they started too fast," Nys said. By then Wellens was overtaken by world champion Lars Boom and Erwin Vervecken.
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"Suddenly Lars was gone and I couldn't do anything else other than go for it. It was better to sit in front than in fifth position over here because it's always stretching out a lot after each corner," Vervecken said. The reason for Boom dropping off the pace was a shoe problem. The world champion was forced to stop, step off and clean the cleat of his shoe as he was unable to clip into his pedal.
Three quarters into the race Vervecken was leading the race together with Zdenek Stybar, Niels Albert, Klaas Vantornout and Sven Nys. In the final laps Vervecken powered forward and only Stybar, helped by his excellent technical skills on the dangerous downhill sections next to the famous track, was able to match the speed from Vervecken, .
"I didn't ride the downhills and Zdenek would always gain a couple of seconds there. I tried it during training and figured I would be able to do it nine times out of ten without a problem, but that tenth time might as well be my last," Vervecken said.
Going into the last lap Vervecken and Stybar were almost joined by Nys but the latter ruined his chances on the barriers. Vervecken kept going hard in the mud and he reached the legendary track with a good gap over Stybar, a gap that proved to be enough for his fourth victory in Roubaix.
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Czech champion Zdenek Stybar came close but he had to settle for second place. "I had a good start but after two laps I was too warm and lost positions. Suddenly I was good again and moved back forward," Stybar said.
Jonathan Page finished thirtieth at more than six minutes behind winner Vervecken. The Planet Bike rider raced with three broken ribs, injuries he sustained at the Diegem night 'cross. "I crashed today during the warm up setting me back about two weeks in my recovery," Page said.
US champion Ryan Trebon finished more than a minute later and the tall Kona rider couldn't hide his annoyance. "It was horrible," Trebon said. "I like races that are fast. It's the third time I've raced here and I don't like those crazy downhills. It doesn't make sense. I'm never coming back here," Trebon said.
Compatriot Jeremy Powers got lapped and complained about the stack-up after the start. "We were in the third row and at every corner things were jamming up. We never had a chance to get near the front. I'm not saying that I was good, though. I was really bad and at one point I even lost my shoe in the mud. A spectator had to point out to me where it was," Powers said.
Next week, the final World Cup round of the season will be held in Milano, Italy and one week later the world championships will take place in Hoogerheide, The Netherlands.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Cyclingnews.com
- Bart Wellens (Fidea) doesn't quite have Vervecken's inseam but makes up for it with good jumping abilities.
- Lars Boom (Rabobank) leads Zdenek Stybar (Fidea) through the barriers.
- Erwin Vervecken (Revor) leaps the barriers.
- Radomir Simunek (BKCP-Powerplus) heads up and over the barriers.
- Lars Boom (Rabobank) went on the attack early with Bart Wellens.
- Kevin Pauwels (Fidea) didn't have a terrific day and ended 20th.
- World Cup leader Sven Nys peers through some muddy glasses.
- Niels Albert (BKCP - Powerplus) tackles the soupy bog section.
- Zdenek Stybar (Fidea) suffers in the mud.
- Lars Boom (Rabobank) had plenty of troubles with a crash and problems with his cleat.
- Sven Vanthourenhout (Sunweb-Projob)
- Enrico Franzoi (Liquigas) puts the hammer down
- The lead group heads through the velodrome.
- Zdenek Stybar (Fidea) put in a powerful performance but mistakes on the last lap cost him a chance at victory.
- Erwin Vervecken (Revor) on his way to his third 'cross win at the Roubaix velodrome.
- Niels Albert (BKCP - Powerplus) struggled in the mud and finished fifth.
- Francis Mourey (Francaise des Jeux) rode well to finish seventh.
- World champion Lars Boom (Rabobank) shoulders his bike.
- Sven Vanthourenhout (Sunweb- Projob) labors with his bike up an incline.
- Thijs Al (AA Drink) finished tenth in Roubaix.
- Vervecken (Revor) leads Stybar (Fidea) around the legendary Roubaix velodrome.
- Erwin Vervecken (Revor) wins the Roubaix World Cup ahead of Czech champion Zdenek Stybar.
- Erwin Vervecken (Revor) wins his second World Cup of the season.
- Enrico Franzoi (Liquigas) sported his new kit of Italian champion.
- Bart Wellens (Fidea) fought the good fight but lost out on the final laps.
- The elite men's podium (l-r) Zdenek Stybar (2nd), Ervin Vervecken (1st) and Sven Nys (3rd).
- Erwin Vervecken (Revor) got a piece of Roubaix to put on the mantlepiece.
- Sven Nys sewed up his lead in the World Cup.
Images by Mitch Clinton/www.clintonphoto.com
- Ryan Trebon at the start
- Bart Wellens (Fidea)
- Erin Vervecken (Revor-Jartazi)
- A crash in Roubaix is not uncommon.
- Lars Boom (Rabobank) got muddy.
- Erin Vervecken (Revor-Jartazi) had a great race.
Images by Fabrice Lambert
- Al Thijs runs along.
- Françis Mourey on the wheel of Sven Vanthourenhout.
- Julien Belgy
- Julien Lopez
- Lars Boom looking clean early on.
- Boom knows how to handle tough courses.
- Lars Boom carries his bike.
- Lars Boom slipped on the stairs but didn't fall at least.
- Nicolas Bazin runs ahead of French teammate Julien Belgy.
- The tricky obstacle section.
- Zdenek Štybar (Fidea Cycling Team) balances his bike.
- Štybar runs up the hill.
- Sven Nys in bike carrier duties.
- Sven Nys leads the coupe du monde.
- Julien Roussel.
- Steve Chainel.
- David Derepas.
- Marco Fontana in the mud.
- Bart Aernouts pulls up the hill.
- Bart Wellens ahead of Lars Boom.
- Enrico Franzoi (Liquigas).
- Erwin Vervecken puts on the pressure.
- Erwin Vervecken on the podium in Roubaix.
- Francis Mourey in his national champ jersey of France.
- Erwin Vervecken wins in Roubaix.
- The podium with (l-r) Štybar (Fidea), Vervecken (Revor) and Nys (Landbouwkrediet).
Results
1 Erwin Vervecken (Bel) Revor-Jartazi Continental Team 1.05.01 2 Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Fidea Cycling Team 0.01 3 Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 0.28 4 Bart Wellens (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team 0.41 5 Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus 0.55 6 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 1.26 7 Francis Mourey (Fra) French National Team 1.32 8 Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Projob 1.43 9 Petr Dlask (Cze) Fidea Cycling Team 1.54 10 Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink - BeOne 2.00 11 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Italian National Team 2.08 12 Gerben de Knegt (Ned) Rabobank 2.23 13 Steve Chainel (Fra) French National Team 2.46 14 Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb-Projob 3.03 15 Simon Zahner (Swi) Swiss National Team 3.13 16 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Italian National Team 3.23 17 Jonathan Lopez (Fra) French National Team 3.32 18 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) AA Drink - Be One 4.03 19 Marco Bianco (Ita) Italian National Team 4.15 20 Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team 4.36 21 Kamil Ausbuher (Cze) Exe Jeans 4.56 22 David Derepas (Fra) UVCA Troyes 5.11 23 Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank 5.25 24 Marek Cichosz (Pol) Legia 192 5.33 25 Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Van Vliet EBH Elshof 5.46 26 Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Prodoli Racing Team 5.51 27 Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Swiss National Team 5.52 28 Julien Roussel (Fra) Flers Cyclisme 61 6.00 29 Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus 6.09 30 Jonathan Page (USA) Planet Bike 6.15 31 Eddy van IJzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink - BeOne 6.44 32 Nicolas Bazin (Fra) French National Team 6.52 33 Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Het Snelle Wiel 7.23 34 Jan Chrobák (Cze) Johnson Controls AS MB 7.35 35 Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona Cyclocross Team 7.40 36 Fabio Ursi (Ita) Italian National Team 7.45 37 René Birkenfeld (Ger) Stevens Cyclocross Team Hamburg 8.29 One lap behind 38 Peter Presslauer (Aut) Team Volksbank 39 Gusty Bausch (Lux) LC Kayl 40 Joachim Parbo (Den) 41 Alessandro Gambino (Ita) Italian National Team Two laps behind 42 Roy Van Heeswijk (Ned) Sint Oedenrode 43 Julien Belgy (Fra) French National Team 44 Aaron Schooler (Can) Three laps behind 45 Vladimír Kyzivát (Cze) Johnson Controls AS MB 46 Ian Bibby (GBr) Great Britain National Team Four laps behind 47 Derrick St John (Can) Stevens Five laps behind 48 Claude Wolter (Lux) Differdange Apiflo Vacances 49 Andre Sutton (Can) Hardcore Cycling Club
World Cup standings after eight rounds 1 Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 540 pts 2 Bart Wellens (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team 452 3 Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Fidea Cycling Team 432 4 Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team 424 5 Erwin Vervecken (Bel) Revor-Jartazi Continental Team 366 6 Thijs Al (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team 363 7 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 356 8 Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Sunweb-Projob 331 9 Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Sunweb-Projob 331 10 Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus 315 11 Gerben de Knegt (Ned) Rabobank 310 12 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team 305 13 Radomir Simunek Jr. (Cze) BKCP - Powerplus 304 14 Bart Aernouts (Bel) Rabobank 290 15 Francis Mourey (Fra) Française des Jeux 272 16 Petr Dlask (Cze) Fidea Cycling Team 250 17 Martin Bína (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor 236 18 Christian Heule (Swi) RendementhypoCycling Team 235 19 Wilant van Gils (Ned) Pro Cycling Team ZZPR.nl-Destil-Merida 213 20 Simon Zahner (Swi) Rendementhypo Cycling Team 204 21 Nicolas Bazin (Fra) Us Domont Cyclisme 189 22 Marco Bianco (Ita) L Arcobaleno Carraro Team 178 23 Rob Peeters (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 178 24 Jonathan Lopez (Fra) VC La Pomme Marseille 166 25 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Selle Italia Guerciotti A.S.D. 164 26 Steve Chainel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 162 27 Martin Zlámalík (Cze) Prodoli Racing Team 158 28 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas 156 29 Kamil Ausbuher (Cze) Exe Jeans 154 30 Eddy van IJzendoorn (Ned) AA Drink Cycling Team 137 31 Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) BKCP - Powerplus 135 32 Mariusz Gil (Pol) LKS Pom Strzelce Krajenskie 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) 82 37 Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Het Snelle Wiel 81 38 Johannes Sickmüller (Ger) Stevens Cyclocross Team Hamburg 73 39 Vladimír Kyzivát (Cze) Johnson Controls AS MB 73 40 Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) 70 41 Julien Belgy (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 64 42 David Kášek (Cze) Cyklo Team Budvar Tábor 62 43 Joachim Parbo (Den) CCV Cyclo crosss Team 62 44 Vaclav Metlicka (Svk) Team Král 61 45 Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Spa) 60 46 Rafael Visinelli (Ita) Gruppo Sportivo Forestale 59 47 Roy Van Heeswijk (Ned) Sint Oedenrode 59 48 Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Swisspower Mountainbike-Team 58 49 Aurélien Duval (Fra) UV Aube 56 50 Pirmin Lang (Swi) VC Bützberg / Delta Elite Team 49 51 David Derepas (Fra) UVCA Troyes 43 52 Ryan Trebon (USA) Kona Cyclocross Team 42 53 Gusty Bausch (Lux) LC Kayl 42 54 Robert Glajza (Svk) 42 55 René Birkenfeld (Ger) Stevens Cyclocross Team Hamburg 39 56 Oscar Vazquez Crespo (Spa) 35 57 Jempy Drucker (Lux) 33 58 Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Team BKCP-Power Plus 32 59 Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles/Trant/Next/GSI 32 60 Martin Haring (Svk) 29 61 Geoffrey Clochez (Fra) 28 62 Paul Voß (Ger) Team Milram 27 63 James Driscoll (USA) Cyclocrossworld.com / Cannondale 27 64 Isaac Suarez Fernandez (Spa) 25 65 Egoitz Murgoitio Rekalde (Spa) 22 66 Laurent Colombatto (Fra) AC Besançon 21 67 Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) 21 68 Bram Schmitz (Ned) Van Vliet - EBH Advocaten - Elshof 19 69 Magnus Darvell (Swe) 18 70 Peter Presslauer (Aut) Team Volksbank 18 71 Troy Wells (USA) TIAA CREF/Clif Bar 16 72 Jose Antonio Diez Arriola (Spa) 16 73 Alessandro Gambino (Ita) Centro Sportivo Esercito 16 74 Jeremy Powers (USA) Cyclocrossworld.com / Cannondale 15 75 Lukáš Kloucek (Cze) Sunweb - Projob Cycling Team 15 76 David Juarez Alday (Spa) 14 77 Florian Le Corre (Fra) Super Sport 35 13 78 Andre Sutton (Can) Hardcore Cycling Club 13 79 Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale 12 80 Matt Shriver (USA) 10 81 Jody Crawforth (GBr) Arctic - Premier RT 10 82 Luca Damiani (Ita) Colavita Sutter Home 7 83 Gerald Hauer (Aut) Sportunion MTB Team 6 84 Brian Matter (USA) 5 85 Adam Myerson (USA) 5 86 Julien Pion (Fra) Charvieu Chavagneux IC 4 87 Keiichi Tsujiura (Jpn) 3 88 Andreas Moser (Swi) Bürgis Cycling Team 3 89 Thomas Puhmer (Aut) Team Sport Nora 3 90 Aaron Schooler (Can) Team H & R Block-Louis Garneau 2 91 Stefano Boggia (Ita) Daccordi Team 2 92 Tommy Nielsen (Den) 1 93 Derrick St John (Can) Stevens 1 94 Julien Laidoun (Fra) 1
