Sven Nys was back in his favoured terrain in today's very muddy Bpost Bank Trophee race which was held on a very muddy circuit in Loenhout. In a head-to-head battle with triple winner and arch-rival Niels Albert, the world champion was in a class of his own while Rob Peeters beat Albert in the sprint for 2nd.

 

After having been hit by bad luck and crashes in the Namur World Cup and facing a way too easy course in yesterday's race in Zolder, Sven Nys finally had an incident-free race on a race that suited him when the series of Christmas races continued in Loenhout in today's round of the Bpost Bank Trophee. The world champion was his own superior self when he broke Niels Albert's winning streak in the traditional mud race and beat his archrival in a direct duel.

 

The two best cyclo-cross racers proved their class on the third lap of the race when they escaped from their rivals for the first time. Unable to shake each other, they slowed down a bit and things came back together but whenever one of the two stars applied the pressure they left their competitors behind.

 

On the fifth lap, the escaped again and as it had often been the case, Albert did the majority of the work as he tried to get rid of his archrival. However, Nys was staying glued to his wheel and always kept something extra in the tank to launch his own attack.

 

That decisive acceleration came a little later when the world champion put the hammer down in a muddy section. This time Albert was unable to keep his wheel and from that moment, the race was a solo show by the world champion.

 

As the Bpost Bank Trophee series is based on time rather than points, Nys kept the pace high all the way to the line to take a convincing solo win. Albert had been joined by Zdenek Stybar, Klaas Vantornout and Rob Peeters to form a chase quartet but again got rid of Stybar and Vantornout.

 

However, he was unable to shake Peeters who stayed glued to his wheel all the way to the line before launching a furious sprint down the finishing straight to take 2nd. Albert had to be content with 3rd and lost 24 seconds to Nys in the overall Bpost standings.

 

With the win and today's time gains, Nys now leads Albert by 1.35 in the series. The next round will be held on New Year's Day when the traditional GP Sven Nys will be held in Baal.

 

The best cyclo-cross racers are, however, back in action tomorrow when the race in Bredene will serve as a warm-up for Sunday's Superprestige race in Diegem.

 

Albert with a fast start

The winner of the three most recent editions of the race, Niels Albert, got his race off to an unusually fast start when he won the opening sprint and hit the front right from the beginning, with archrival Sven Nys staying glued to his wheel. Philipp Walsleben and Thijs van Amerongen were riding in third and fourth positions while Zdenek Stybar had overcome his bad starting position to find himself in fifth ahead of Klaas Vantornout.

 

Albert was intent on putting his rivals under pressure right from the beginning and the fast pace set by the former world champion started to split things up. As Stybar struggled to hold the wheel of van Amerongen, Albert, Nys, Walsleben and van Amerongen opened a small gap.

 

Vantornout reacts

Vantournout sensed the danger and quickly moved past Stybar in an attempt to get back into contention. The Czech champion and Martin Bina managed to stay on the wheel of the Belgian champion as the trio set off in pursuit of the leading quartet.

 

When the front group entered the finishing straight for the first time, van Amerongen had fallen back to the chasers. While Albert tried to get some assistance on the tarmac section and so slowed down, the two front groups came together to form a leading septet. Kevin Pauwels led the next group across the line around 10 seconds back.

 

Van Amerongen on the front

Van Amerongen had appeared to be in difficulty in the final part of the first lap but the Dutchman found reserves to hit the front shortly after the passage of the line. Bina started to struggle while Pauwels and Tom Meeusen separated themselves from the chase group.

 

Van Amerongen was unable to keep Bina, Pauwels and Meeusen at bay and a few moments later, the rest of the chase group had also joined the leaders.

 

Bonus seconds for Albert and Nys

Van Amerongen won the intermediate sprint while Albert surged ahead of Nys to take 2nd and gain a few bonus seconds. Moments later, disaster struck for Meeusen as his chain came off and it took some time for him to get going again.

 

Halfway through the lap, Stybar hit the front and started to put his rivals under pressure. As he was unable to shake off anybody, he slowed down and allowed van Amerongen to hit the front. A big group of 10-15 riders crossed the line for the second time.

 

Vantornout holds up rivals

Van Amerongen was on fire today and kept the pace high on the third lap with Stybar on his wheel. A bad bike change for Vantornout held up several riders who fell back towards the rear end of the big group, with Nys being one of the riders to lose several positions. Albert had now lost his momentum from his fast start and was tiding at the back of the group while Meeusen was far behind after his untimely mechanical.

 

Halfway through the lap, Jim Aernouts hit the front and the in-form Sunweb rider upped the pace significantly. Walsleben and Albert were now both struggling at the back while gaps started to open up in the big front group.

 

A big group is formed

Aernouts, van Amerongen, Stybar, Rob Peeters, Vantornout, Taramarcaz, Pauwels, Nys and Bart Wellens emerged as a front group but when they hit the finishing straight, they slowed down and allowed the chasing group to get back.

 

Walsleben and Albert had spent some energy to close the gap but went directly to the front as they started the third lap. Walsleben did the early pace-setting before Albert decided that it was time to turn on the screws.

 

Nys attacks

However, just as he tried to hit the front, Nys came from behind and accelerated hard in a muddy section. The fierce increase in the pace was more than any of their rivals could handle and as they exited the section, the two archrivals had were riding alone in the front.

 

Albert kept the pace high and Nys appeared to be in difficulty as he tried to stay with the BKCP rider. Vantornout had separated himself from the chasers and was now riding in lone pursuit while Jim Aernouts led the group a little further behind.

 

Vantornout gets across

Being unable to shake Nys, Albert slowed down and allowed the world champion to hit the front. He was, however, unwilling to maintain the hard pace and this allowed Vantornout to join the front duo.

 

As they neared the finishing straight, Nys slowed down. Vantornout was quick to exploit the small lull to launch an attack, prompting Albert to race hard to close down the gap. The trio crossed the line at the halfway points with a 3-second gap over the chasers where Stybar was now going full gas to get back.

 

Stybar reels in the front trio

It was mission accomplished for the former world champion just a few metres after the passage of the line and a 10-rider front group had again formed. However, Albert was in no mood for company and he accelerated again as soon as they were back in one of the muddy sections.

 

Albert was quickly overtaken by Nys and again it was clear who the three strongest riders were. Nys, Albert and Vantornout opened a small gap but when Nys and Albert chose to swap bikes, Jim Aernouts led Stybar and  Peeters back to the front trio.

 

A front quartet is created

Albert made another acceleration which left both Stybar and Peeters behind. A front quartet had now been formed, with Albert having Nys, Vantornout and Jim Aernouts glued to his wheel.

 

Albert kept a high pace for the rest of the lap, with Peeters and Stybar being the nearest chasers of the leaders. Just before the passage of the line, Vantornout was unable to keep up with Albert and Nys and the two dominating cross riders separated themselves from their rivals.

 

Albert sets the pace

As they entered the finishing straight, Albert slowed down to allow Nys to take a short pull before again leaving it to Albert to set the pace.  Vantonout and Aernouts were not far behind, with Peeters and Stybar getting closer to the chasing duo.

 

Entering the muddy zone at the start of the circuit, Nys again accelerated and this time Albert was clearly in difficulty. The world champion opened up a small gap while Albert was reeled in by Vantornout who had left Aernouts behind in the thick mud.

 

Stybar impresses

Stybar rode fantastic through the mud and managed to close the gap to Albert and Vantornout and a little later, Peeters also made the junction. However, Albert was unable to match Nys' speed and the world champion constantly added seconds to his ever-growing adavnatge.

 

Stybar didn't need much time to recover from his effort and hit the front. The Czech champion was clearly on a roll and Albert was in severe difficulty as he tried to keep up with the road star.

 

Nys with a big gap

Nys passed the line to start the penultimate lap with 13-second advantage over Albert, Stybar, Vantornout and Peeters. Stybar and Albert swapped turns in their desperate attempt to get back to the world champion.

 

In the first muddy section, Albert accelerated and proved his superior skills. Stybar was unable to keep his wheel and quickly opened a big gap to his chasers.

 

Peeters gets across

Impressively, Peeters - who has appeared to be the weakest link in the chase quartet - closed the gap to Albert while Stybar and Vantornout had joined forces in a second chase group. Nys was now no longer gaining any ground but Albert was not getting any closer either.

 

Nys crossed the line to start the final lap with a 10-second gap over Peeters and Albert while Stybar and Vantornout were more than 10 seconds further adrift. After following wheels for the entire race, Peeters decided that it was time to contribute to the pace-setting and hit the front as they headed up the finishing straight.

 

Peeters in difficulty

The first muddy section was rideable for Albert while Peeters shouldered his bikes. Despite doing his utmost, the Telenet rider was unable to keep up with the former world champion and when they exited the section and swapped their bikes in the pit, Albert was riding alone.

 

Peeters refused to give up though and he gradually managed to close the gap to Albert. As they passed the site of the intermediate sprint halfway through the lap, the two chasers had again joined forces, with Albert doing all the work.

 

Nys maximizes gains

However, there was no one getting even close to Sven Nys on this muddy day in Loenhout and the world champion kept extending his lead. With the Bpost Bank Trofee being decided on time, the world champion was keen to keep the pace high for the entire race to maximize his time gains.

 

Nys entered the finishing straight with an enormous gap but gave himself no time to celebrate his win, riding hard all the way to the line before raising his arms. Albert led out the sprint but was beaten clearly by Peeters who crowned a beautiful performance with a second place.

 

Vantornout had distanced himself from Stybar and took 4th ahead of the Czech champion while Walsleben, Wietse Bosmans, Jim Aernouts, Julien Taramarcaz and Bart Wellens completed the top 10.

 

Result:

1. Sven Nys

2. Rob Peeters +0.21

3. Niels Albert +0.24

4. Klaas Vantornout +0.43

5. Zdenek Stybar +0.48

6. Philipp Walsleben +0.54

7. Wietse Bosmans +0.54

8. Jim Aernouts +0.58

9. Julien Taramarcaz +1.03

10. Bart Wellens +1.24

 

Overall standings:

1. Sven Nys

2. Niels Albert +1.35

3. Klaas Vantornout+3.04

4. Thijs van Amerongen +4.13

5. Philipp Walsleben +5.04

6. Rob Peeters +5.57

7. Bart Aernouts +6.19

8. Tom Meeusen +6.20

9. Kevin Pauwels +7.55

10. Julien Taramarcaz +9.40