Tom Meeusen came out on top in an exciting three-rider battle against Francis Mourey and Philipp Walsleben to win the final World Cup race of the season in the French city of Nommay. After having struggled to keep up with his rivals on several occasions, he always managed to come back and finally beat Morey in a close sprint while Lars van der Haahr finished a distant 4th to seal his overall win in the World Cup.

 

Tom Meeusen exploited the absence of the dominant Sven Nys to win his first World Cup of the season when he came out on top on the muddy course in the French city of Nommay. In a thrilling battle with local hero Francis Mourey and Philipp Walsleben, he rode a smart final lap to stay with his rivals before denying Mourey the home win in a close sprint.

 

Meeusen showed his intentions already from the start when he escaped on his own on the first lap but it was Walsleben who first got a solid gap. However, Meeusen always stayed near the front and when he latched onto a fast-moving Mourey, he made it across to the German champion.

 

With their nearest rivals being more than 30 seconds behind already at the halfway point, it was now a 3-rider battle. Meeusen struggled in the muddy first part of the course but kept getting back on the second part and whenever the trio crossed the line to start another lap, the trio was back toegther.

 

Realizing that he could not afford to spend the final lap in chase mode, Meeusen made a smart attack on the finishing straight when they headed out on the circuit for the last time. This allowed him to enter the muddy sections in first position and he managed to stay in contact with his rivals on his feared part.

 

Mourey had appeared to be the strongest rider in the race and to the delight of the enthusiastic home crowd, he made a massive attack on the final lap. He briefly gapped Meeusen and Walsleben who had now started to tire but Meeusen dug deep to get back to the front just before they entered the finishing straight.

 

Mourey accelerated hard to get onto the tarmac as the first rider but Meeusen was well-placed on his wheel. While Walsleben quickly gave up and drifted backwards, Meeusen just managed to pass Mourey, taking a big World Cup win just one week ahead of the world championships.

 

Lars van der Haahr had left the World Cup overall all the time since winning the first two races of the series. He got the race in Nommay off to a bad start and spent the entire race in chase mode. However, he ended the race as the best of the rest in 4th - more than a minute behind Meeusen  - and comfortably sealed his overall World Cup win ahead of Walsleben who moved into 2nd. Niels Albert had a bad race and could only manage 12th, dropping to 3rd in the final standings.

 

The cyclo-cross season is now reaching its climax as next weekend will be the date for the World Championships in Hoogerheide. After having spent a few weeks training on his own, Nys will be back in action to defend his title in the Netherlands.

 

Zahner gets a fast start

Simon Zahner came out with all guns blazing and stormed up the stairs just after the stars. The Swiss led the peloton for a few moments before being passed by Marcel Meisen and Sacha Weber as it was the lesser-known riders who dominated the early proceedings.

 

Meisen and Weber were riding well and they opened up a small gap on the peloton. They were joined by Corne Van Kessel to form a leading trio but as they reached the pits for the first time, the strung-out peloton was back together.

 

Meeusen hits the front

The first big name now showed himself on the front as Tom Meeusen took over the pace-setting. As Weber in 2nd position found it difficult to keep up with the him, the Belgian got clear on his own while overall leader Lars van der Haahr was riding far back in the main group.

 

Meeusen appeared to be a man on a mission and he was gradually putting more time into the peloton. When he crossed the line for the first time, he was 9 seconds ahead of a small chase group that included the likes of Meisen, Weber, Zahner, Philipp Walslebn, Thijs van Amerongen, Francis Mourey, Bart Aernouts, Van Kessel and Klaas Vatornout. Niels Albert and van der Haahr were in the second group which was 8 seconds further adrift.

 

Walsleben makes an attack

Walsleben accelerated hard in the first muddy section on the circuit and in a matter of seconds he closed the gap to Meeusen with van Kessel on his wheel. Meanwhile, the chase group was starting to split up as the course's many difficulties were starting to take their toll.

 

The front trio already had a big gap and French champion Mourey who was keen to excel on home soil, hit the front on the chase group as he tried to get back in contention. Up ahead, Meeusen was appling the pressure which was too much for van Kessel who fell off the pace.

 

Van Kessel rejoins the leaders

Van Kessel was not giving up though and as Meeusen again slowed down a bit, the Dutchman rejoined the leaders. When they hit the finishing straight, Meeusen accelerated again and the trio crossed the line with a 9-second gap over Mourey who was now in lone pursuit. The first big group was 9 seconds further behind and was led across the line by Radomir Simunek.

 

On the third lap, Walsleben decided to attack  and after a little while he finally got rid of Meeusen to become the lone leader of the race. Meeusen and Van Kessel joined forces to set up a chase and got company from Mourey who reeled them in from behind.

 

Back together

While Mourey took a short breather at the back of the group, Meeusen got clear on his own as Van Kessel was unable to hold his teammate's wheel. The Belgian gradually reeled in Walsleben and when they crossed the line, they were back together.

 

Mourey had now dropped Van Kessel and was 7 seconds behind while Van Kessel had already lost another 13 seconds. Van der Haahr had started to move up and he led a group with Simunek, Kevin Pauwels and Wietse Bosmans across the line as the 5th rider on the course.

 

Meeusen is again dropped

On the fourth lap, Walsleben again dropped Meeusen while van der Haahr and Pauwels separated themselves from their companions, the duo being intent to get back in contention. Meanwhile, Meeusen had started to slow and he was now joined by Mourey in his chase of Walsleben.

 

The leader kept a solid pace throughout the lap and crossed the line at the halfway point with an 8-second lead over his two chasers. Pauwels and van der Haahr were next but had already lost 31 seconds. Simunek and Bosmans were still together while van Kessel had drifted back into 8th.

 

Mourey accelerates

Mourey was now clearly the fastest on the course and the French champion quickly left Meeusen behind. At the same time, he gradually got closer to Walsleben who could see his lead decrease with every pedal stroke.

 

However, Meeusen was recovering from his small crisis and on the second half of the circuit he again got closer to Mourey. The race was now a 3-rider battle, with the trio being separated by almost equal gaps.

 

Three riders back together

Just as they passed the line to start  the 6th laps, the three riders again came together, setting up an exciting finale ahead of the large French crowd. Van der Haahr and Pauwels had closer their gap slightly but were still 28 seconds back and out of contention for the win.

 

Mourey hit the front and as he started to accelerate, Meeusen started to pay the price for his hard chase. The Belgian again lost ground, leaving the two national champions in the front of the race.

 

Mourey makes repeated accelerations

Mourey tried to make repeated accelerations but Walsleben was glued to his wheel. Meeusen still hadn't given up and as it had been the case on the previous lap, he used the second part to gradually get closer to the leaders.

 

When they hit the finishing straight to start the penultimate lap, Meeusen again made the junction and the race was still a 3-rider battle as it had been at the previous passage. Mourey led the group across the line while van der Haahr and Pauwels hod now lost 32 seconds, with Simunek and Bosmans being 16 seconds further behind.

 

Meeusen again falls behind

Meeusen clearly didn't like the first part of the circuit as he was again dislodged when Mourey continued his fierce pace-setting. However, he was quickly overtaken by Walsleben who surprisingly dropped Moure who had seemed to be the strongest rider in the race.

 

It was only a short bad moment for Mourey though as he got back up to speed and smartly and gradually reeled Walsleben back in. Again Meeusen recovered in the second part of the circuit and was also getting close to his two rivals.

 

Mourey with a mistake

Mourey made a small mistake on a steep climb and this saw him again lose contact with Walsleben. In one short acceleration, the French champion got back on and when Meeusen also bridged across, it was all back together as they neared the end of the penultimate lap.

 

For the third time in a row, the best riders crossed the line and as front trio but this time Meeusen didn't want to get dropped in the early part of the circuit. He launched an attack on the finishing straight and while he wasn't able to drop his rivals, he now started the difficult section in first position. Van der Haahr and Pauwels had now slowed much down and were 50 seconds behind.

 

Walsleben in difficulty

Meeusen continued the pace-setting and for the first time Walsleben was in difficulty. Riding in third position, Mourey sensed the danger and anticipated the situation by overtaking his German rival to get onto the wheel of Meeusen.

 

Passing through the pits, Meeusen slowed down a bit and this allowed Walsleben to latch back onto the back of the group. A few moments later, Mourey hit the front, making a final attempt to get rid of his two challengers.

 

Meeusen loses ground

Meeusen dug deep to stay on the wheel of the French champion while Walsleben was again struggling. Finally, Meeusen had to surrender, with Mourey opening a small gap. Meeusen fell back to Walsleben but the duo was only a few metres behind the leading Frenchman.

 

Impressively, Meeusen managed to close the gap and Walsleben and Meeusen went should to shoulder when they tried to take the first position. Meeusen came out on top and as Walsleben made a small attack, he lost a few metres.

 

A fierce sprint

Mourey again sprinted to get onto the tarmac in first position. While Walsleben gave up, Meeusen and Mourey went head-to-head in a fierce sprint, with the former edging ahead just before the line to take his first World Cup win of the season.

 

Walsleben rolled across in 3rd while van der Haahr had left behind Pauwels - who had had a mechanical - and had plenty of time to celebrate his overall World Cup win with a solid 4th place.

 

Result:

1. Tom Meeusen

2. Francis Mourey

3. Philipp Walsleben +0.06

4. Lars van der Haar +1.02

5. Radomir Simunek +1.18

6. Kevin Pauwels +1.24

7. Wietse Bosmans +1.30

8. Rob Peeters +1.30

9. Bart Aernouts

 

Overall World Cup result:

1. Lars van der Haahr 467

2. Philipp Walsleben 409

3. Niels Albert 392

4. Kevin Pauwels 363

5. Francis Mourey 340