GP Overijse, Super Prestige Trophy, Round 6

Belgium, December 13, 1998

Preview     Report     Results     Standings    

The 1998-99 Super Prestige Cup

                                                          
Round 1, Ruddervoorde, Belgium, October 24, 1998
Round 2, Asper, Belgium, November 15, 1998
Round 3, St. Michielsgestel, Netherlands, November 22, 1998
Round 4, Gieten, Netherlands, November 29, 1998
Round 5, Silvelle, Italy, December 8, 1998
Round 6, Overijse, Belgium, December 13, 1998
Round 7, Hoogstraten, Belgium, December 23, 1998
Round 8, Diegem, Belgium, December 27, 1998 
Round 9, Surhuisterveen, Netherlands, December 30, 1998
Round 10, Wetzikon, Switzerland, January 24, 1998
Round 11, Harnes, France, February, 7, 1998

Background Interview with Sven Nijs

Sunday's Superprestige Trophy round at Overijse in Belgium is one of the classic races of the cyclocross season. It is also the 150th race in the Superprestige Trophy series since it began 17 years ago. It thus carries a lot of history not the least for Roland Liboton who has won 16 times over the Overijse circuit. He will be watching on Sunday as Sven Nijs goes for his 5th out of 6 wins in the Superprestige for 1998-99.

Another victory for Nijs and he will virtually seal the Trophy for the year. Only 3 riders have one more than 5 Superprestige races in a winter: Liboton won 5 in 1983-84 and six in 1987-88, Daniele Pontoni won 6 races in 1992-93 and 5 races in 1993-94. And last year the then unbeatable Dutchman Richard Groenendaal won 5 races. Nijs, however, is unphased. He said: "Statistics and the records I might hold are not an interest. But I must say that when I heard that only 3 riders have one 5 races in the 17 year history of the event I became enthusiastic. I am not a person who goes through such statistics with a fine-tooth comb. But on Sunday I now know that I can join Roland, Daniele and Richard. That is a very nice prospect because next to Gavere, Overijse is the top parcours in the Superprestige Trophy."

The Under-23 World Champion is in scintillating form this year. The 22-year old manages to remain himself in between all the successes he is having in the racing. He is often followed by a legion of supporters. On Sunday evening it is likely that he will head straight to the discotheque with 50 fans on his heels. Liboton did not live like that.

How does he see his success this season so far?

"After each race I ask myself. How long can I do this? But I am not taking precautions. I am rather curious. I want to see how far I can go in my first professional season. I am not getting any signals that things are about to come unstuck. I am riding very strong at present."

Nijs will try on Sunday at Overijse to bring his fairy tale to fruition. "Cross is the alive in Brabant and I expect many people to come. In Baal there are three buses chartered. Overijse is a classic, for riders and spectators. The parcours is spectacular and it is easy to follow the action making it ideal for the public. But for us it is not perfect. The organisers have designed the race so that we will be riding in the opposite direction to all the previous cross races. We will have to watch this. It still remains a hard circuit. It will suit the rider with the best condition and the fastest recovery."

In case you thought Nijs was the only rider with a chance you might also like to consider Mario De Clercq, Bart Wellens and Adri Van der Poel.

Race Report

The 150th Superprestige Trophy event at Overijse in Belgium was set to be a triumph for the Belgian star rider Sven Nijs. He was aiming to join a select few who have won more than 5 races in any one season. The normally exciting race at Overijse, a small village south-east of Brussel along the E411, had increased attraction for the Belgian cross fans.

Unfortunately, another young Belgian rider upset the plans of Nijs.

Erwin Vervecken took the race after breaking away with 4 other riders early in the race. Try as he might Nijs chasing with Van der Poel could not get back into the race. It contrasts with the efforts of Richard Groenendaal, who twice this season has had bad starts and who has been able to come back through the field and threaten.

But at Overijse, it was Vervecken, World Champion Mario De Clercq, the in-form Bart Wellens, and the Dutch maestro Groenendaal who went away early. On the last lap, Vervecken and De Clercq were the only two left at the front with Wellens and Groenendaal around 20 and 27 seconds back, respectively.

Vervecken won convincingly. Nijs retains the top position on the Superprestige Trophy rankings leading De Clercq by 18 points, Wellens by 19, and last year's Trophy winner, Richard Groenendaal by 25 points. It will still be hard for any one of them to overall the lead that Nijs had built up by winning 4 of the first 6 races.

Round 6, Overijse

 1. Erwin Vervecken (Bel) 		     1.01.43
 2. Mario de Clercq (Bel)			0.06
 3. Bart Wellens (Bel)				0.21
 4. Richard Groenendaal (Ned)			0.27
 5. Adri van der Poel (Ned)			1.27
 6. Sven Nijs (Bel)				1.39
 7. Radomir Simunek (Cze)
 8. Peter van Santvliet (Bel)
 9. Andy Daelmans (Bel)
10. Ben Berden (Bel)
11. Marc Janssens (Bel)
12. Maarten Nijland (Ned)
13. Gerben de Knegt (Ned)
14. Tom van Noppen (Bel)
15. Bjorn Rondelez (Bel)

Super Prestige Trophy Standings after Round 6:

                               Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6   Total

 1. Sven Nijs (Bel)                15      14      15      15      15      10      84
 2. Mario de Clercq (Bel)          13      15      14       0      10      14      66
 3. Bart Wellens (Bel)              0      13      12      13      12      13      63
 4. Richard Groenendaal (Bel)      14      12       4      14       3      12      59
 5. Adri van der Poel (Ned)        12      10       1      11      13      11      58
 6. Erwin Vervecken (Bel)          11       7       8       4       9      15      54
 7. Ben Berden (Bel)                5       9       7       8       8       6      43
 8. Radomir Simunek (Cze)           0       5       9       7      11       9      41
 9. Marc Janssens (Bel)             9       8       3      12       0       5      37
10. Peter van Santvliet (Bel)       7      11       0       9       0       8      35
11. Daniele Pontoni (Ita)           8       0       0       5      14       0      27
12. Wim de Vos (Ned)                0       0      13      10       0       0      23
13. Peter Willemsens (Bel)         10       0      10       0       0       0      20
14. Andy Daelmans (Bel)             0       0       5       6       0       7      18
15. Maarten Nijland (Ned)           3       1       2       2       5       4      17
16. Gretinus Gommers (Ned)          0       0      11       1       0       0      12
17. Tom van Noppen (Bel)            0       3       6       0       0       2      11
18. Luca Bramati (Ita)              0       0       0       0       7       0       7
19. Gerben  De Kneght (Ned)         0       0       0       3       0       3       6
20. David Bertoni (Ita)             0       0       0       0       6       0       6
21. Danny de Bie (Bel)              0       6       0       0       0       0       6
22. Peter van den Abeele (Bel)      2       4       0       0       0       0       6
23. Paul Herijgers (Bel)            6       0       0       0       0       0       6
24. Bjorn Rondelez (Bel)            1       2       0       0       0       1       4
25. Kamil Ausbuher (Cze)            0       0       0       0       4       0       4
26. David Willemsens (Bel)          4       0       0       0       0       0       4
27. Robert Glajza (Svk)             0       0       0       0       2       0       2
28. Igor Tavella (Ita)              0       0       0       0       1       0       1