Niels Albert got back to his winning ways when he won the very muddy World Cup race in Rome under rainy conditions. Having escaped early on his own early in the race, he managed to hold off late comebacks from slow starters Lars van der Haahr and Sven Nys to take the win while van der Haahr's 2nd place was enough to almost lock up the overall World Cup win with just one race remaining.

 

In recent weeks, Niels Albert has found himself in the shadow of Sven Nys who has been dominating the cyclo-cross races in the Christmas season, capping it off with a crushing victory in his home race in Baal. Today Albert got back on track by winning the World Cup race in Rome, just one week ahead of the important Belgian championships.

 

The race in Rome is famously known for its fast course that makes the racing look more like a road criterium than a cyclo-cross race. However, overnight rain had turned the circuit into a muddy chaos, requiring the riders to use their technical abilities in the many tight corners.

 

Known for his slow start, Albert showed his intentions right from the start when he entered the first technical section in third position and he managed to join Philipp Walsleben and Martin Bina when the trio escaped already on the first lap. Having used the work of his companions for a little more than a lap, he attacked hard at the start of the third one and from there he never looked back.

 

While Albert was riding alone in the front, overall leader Lars van der Haahr and world champion Sven Nys were still trying to overcome disastrous starts. Finding themselves far back in the peloton on a course where it was difficult to pass, the front trio was already far ahead when they finally reached the front of the main group.

 

With nearest rival Walsleben being up the road, van der Haahr was forced to react and he made an impressive comeback to gradually get himself back to the first chase group that had now also been joined by Francis Mourey. As Walsleben started to suffer and so fell off the pace, the Dutch champion suddenly found himself in the position of potentially extending his lead.

 

Nys was an even slower starter but in the final three laps, the world champion finally decided that it was time to kick into action. By the time he started the final lap, he was back with Mourey and van der Haahr and the trio worked well together as they tried to get back to Albert.

 

However, the former world champion had enough in reserve to hold off his rivals while van der Haahr beat Nys in the sprint for 2nd, 5 seconds later. Walsleben had a disastrous end to his race and ended back in 11th.

 

This allowed van der Haahr to extend his overall lead to 54 seconds over Albert who moves into 2nd. With just one race coming up in Nommay in three weeks time, van der Haahr finds himself in a very good position to take his first ever overall World Cup win.

 

The best cyclo-cross riders will be back in action next weekend where the very important national championships take place all across the globe.

 

Walsleben with a fast start

Philipp Walsleben got his race off to a good start when the German champion hit the front right from the beginning. With Martin Bina on his wheel, he opened up a small gap over the peloton but Niels Albert who had started the race unusually well quickly brought things back together as they headed around the many tight switchbacks in the first part of the course.

 

While Albert had started his race better than expected, World Cup leader Lars van der Haahr and world champion Sven Nys had certainly hoped to open their race a bit better. The pair was riding back in the middle of the peloton and as it was almost impossible to pass riders on most of the course, they faced a difficult task in getting back to the front.

 

Albert sets off in pursuit

Walsleben was riding really well right from the beginning and he managed the technical sections really well. With Bina on his wheel, he accelerated away from the peloton while Albert set off in lone pursuit.

 

Albert was joined by Francis Mourey who was keen to continue his strong run of World Cup success after having won the race in Namur just before Christmas. The pair managed to regain contact with the leaders to for n a front quartet while Wietse Bosmans, Corne Van Kessel and Bart Wellens made up their nearest chasers.

 

Three leaders with a small gap

Bina led the front group across the line in first position, with the three chasers being 8 seconds behind. Sacha Weber led the next group onto the second lap but they had already lost 16 seconds. Van der Haahr crossed the line with a 18 second deficit while Nys was 4 seconds further adrift.

 

Albert hit the front right from the beginning of the second lap and he started to accelerate on a course that on paper didn't suit him well. However, he stumbled on a corner but only Bina managed to pass him and he remained in contact with the front group,

 

Nys still far back

At this point, the peloton was still fairly big, with Thijs van Amerongen doing the chase work. Van der Haahr and Nys still found themselves far back in the group and had difficulty moving up on the tight circuit.

 

Albert was in a determined mood and was quickly back on the front after his small crash. As he again started to accelerated, Mourey began to feel the pace and he was dangling a few metres behind the front group.

 

Mourey loses ground

As they neared the end of the lap, Albert asked Bina to come through and the pair swapped turns on the open, non-technical sections while Walsleben was still hanging on. Meanwhile, Mourey was constantly losing ground while van Amerongen had not separated himself from the main group where van der Haahr was now contributing to the pace-setting.

 

As they crossed the line for the second time, Mourey was 10 seconds back, while the three chasers were 8 seconds further adrift. van Amerongen was at 25 seconds while the peloton was led across the line by van der Haahr with a 29 second deficit.

 

Albert makes the decisive attack

As they hit the technical section for the third time, Albert once again hit the gas and this time his companions were unable to match his speed. Meanwhile, disaster struck for Wellens whose chain came off and the former world champion fell back to van Amerongen.

 

Local hero Marco Aurelio Fontana was now starting to show his intentions and the Italian champion started to accelerate from the peloton. Meanwhile, Albert's lead kept growing and the BKCP leader was now far ahead of Bina and Walsleben.

 

Rain starts to fall

When Albert crossed the line for the third line, rain had started to fall but the former world champion didn't care. He already had a 13 second lead over his chasers which had again been joined by Mourey who was riding faster and faster.

 

Van Amerongen and Wellens had bridged the gap to Van Kessel and Bosmans but they were already 32 seconds back while van der Haahr and Tom Meeusen led the peloton across the line, 4 seconds further adrift.

 

Van der Haahr starts to move up

On the fourth lap, van der Haahr was starting to move up and he closed the small gap to the van Amerongen group. He went straight to the front to continue his pace-setting as he tried to reel in his nearest overall rival Walsleben.

 

Just as van der Haahr has set into motion, Walsleben was unlucky to slide out in a muddy section. As a consequence, both he and Mourey were dropped by Bina who was now in lone pursuit of Albert in second position.

 

Van der Haahr gets closer

van der Haahr's acceleration saw him get clear of all of his companions except van Amerongen who was the only rider who managed to keep up with the World Cup leader. In determined mood and with his once white leader's jersey unrecognizable due to the thick mud, he gradually got closer to Walsleben and Mourey who kept losing ground to Bina.

 

Albert crossed the line at the halfway point with a 15-second gap over Bina who had almost lost no ground on the fourth lap. Mourey and Walsleben were 21 seconds behind while van der Haahr and van Amerongen were now only 29 seconds back. The main group had now been brought down to just Van Kessel, Meeusen, Nys and Bosmans and they were 36 seconds behind Albert, with Wellens and Rob Peeters following a few seconds later.

 

Van der Haahr joins the chasers

In the first part of the second fifth lap, Bina was back with Walsleben and Mourey but at the same moment, van der Haahr bridged the gap, leaving van Amerongen behind. A four-rider chase group had now formed behind Albert who appeared to be slightly paying the price for his early attack.

 

Mourey now accelerated and this put Walsleben into difficulty. As Bina also started to struggle, he was passed by van der Haahr who tried to close the small gap that Mourey had opened.

 

Walsleben in difficulty

Apparently, Walsleben had some kind of problem as he suddenly found himself back with Wellens and Peeters. This was good news for van der Haahr who could now smell the overall win in the World Cup series.

 

When Albert crossed the line, his gap over Mourey had not come out to 18 seconds while van der Haahr and Bina were three seconds further behind. Van Amerongen was at 32 seconds while Nys was now starting to move up. The world champion had splintered his group, with Bosmans, Van Kessel and Meeusen all falling off the pace and he was now about to join van Amerongen.

 

Nys moves up

In the early part of the fifth lap, van der Haahr and Bina rejoined Mourey while Nys closed the gap to van Amerongen. Mourey had no intentions of slowing down though and his fast pace was too much for Bina who fell off.

 

Halfway through the lap, van der Haahr decided that it was time to put in another acceleration but Mourey was able to match his pace. Meanwhile, Nys had caught Bina and had now finally got his legs going but as he was forced to change his bike in the pits, he again fell back to van Amerongen.

 

Van der Haahr and Mourey cooperate well

As they entered the final, non-technical section, Mourey and van der Haahr started to swap turns as drafting played a crucial role in this windy part of the course. Nys, van Amerongen and Bina had now combined forces and were trying hard to close the gap to the chase duo.

 

Mourey and van der Haahr started the penultimate lap with a rather stable 17-second lap wile Nys attacked just before the passage, crossing the line with a 31-second time deficit. van Amerongen and Bina were three seconds further behind while Meeusen and van Kessel were at 43 seconds. Peeters was 9th while Walsleben had now fallen back into 10th, 1.03 in arrears.

 

Van der Haahr in difficulty

In the technical section, van der Haahr started to struggle and the World Cup leader lost contact with Mourey. However, the French champion was unable to get any closer to Albert who kept the pace high despite his lengthy, lone spell at the front of the race.

 

Nys had now definitively overcome his bad start and he joined van der Haahr halfway through the lap. Now sensing a possible spot on the podium, the world champion was clearly the fastest rider at this point of the race. He went straight past van der Haahr and the pair gradually closed the gap to Mourey.

 

Excitement ahead of final lap

Albert started the final lap with a 13-second gap over Mourey who had reduced his deficit slightly. van der Haahr and Nys were 4 seconds further back while van Amerongen and Bina were at 43 seconds. Peeters and Meeusen had now joined forces, 50 seconds back.

 

Shortly after the passage of the line, Nys and van der Haahr were back with Mourey and the trio could now smell the victory. However, Albert knew that his lead was under threat and he was now giving it his all in his quest to defend his lead.

 

Albert keeps up the pace

Albert benefited from the technical section and halfway through the lap, he had not lost any ground to his nearest chaser. He still faced the open, windy section though, with his chasers having the benefit of drafting in the exposed parts.

 

Back on the asphalt, Albert accelerated hard to put out the last bit of energy but at the same time, Nys decided that it was time to go for glory one final time. The world champion upped the pace even further but was unable to shake off his companions.

 

Too late for Nys

The trio started to swap turns as they neared Albert but their acceleration had come too late. Albert safely negotiated the final tricky corners and had enough time to celebrate his win properly when he hit the finishing straight. He raised his arms in celebration as he took his second World Cup win of the season.

 

Van der Haahr beat Nys in the sprint for 2nd, 5 seconds back while Mourey took 4th at 11 seconds. Bina was 5th, 41 seconds in arrears, while Peeters had finished fast to take 6th. van Amerongen was 7th, Meeusen 8th, Van Kessel 9th while Wellens rounded out the top 10. Walsleben was a disappointing while defending champion Pauwels could only manage 13th, a few positions ahead of local hero Fontana in 15th.

 

Result:

1. Niels Albert

2. Lars van der Haahr +0.05

3. Sven Nys

4. Francis Mourey +0.11

5. Martin Bina +0.41

6. Rob Peeters+0.46

7. Thijs van Amerongen +0.51

8. Tom Meeusen +1.03

9. Corne van Kessel

10. Bart Wellens

 

Overall standings:

1. Lars van der Haahr 407

2. Niels Albert 353

3. Philipp Walsleben 344

4. Kevin Pauwels 313

5. Klaas Vantornout 279

6. Tom Meeusen 270

7. Thijs van Amerongen 267

8. Sven Nys 265

9. Bart Aernouts 264

10. Kevin Peeters 248