Marianne Vos made the Dutch public go crazy when she took a dominant sixth consecutive win in the women's World Cyclo-Cross Championships held on her home soil in the city of Hoogerheide. The Dutchwoman rode away from everybody else already on the first lap and had a solo ride for the rest of the rest while the big battle with World Cup winner Katie Compton never materialized after the American had to spent the race in chase mode due to bad luck right from the start.

 

Marianne Vos proved again that she is the world's dominant cyclo-cross rider when she took a sixth straight - seventh in total - World Championships title on her home soil in Hoogerheide. Being surrounded by an ecstatic home crowd, she rode solo for almost the entire race and finished more than a minute into her nearest rival in a crushing display of power.

 

On the first lap, Vos briefly had company from Eva Lechner but the Italian was no match to Vos' superior power. The Dutchwoman dropped her companion on the final climb of the circuit and from there it was a ceremonial procession all the way to the finish.

 

"It was amazing," she said in her post-race interview. "From the start, the crowds were amazing. Everybody  was yelling my name. It helps you but you still have to push the pedals.

 

"When I saw we had a gap the two of us, I thought there was a chance. For most of the week, I felt really good. I knew I had a good chance. It is great to win here in the Netherlands."

 

Vos will now focus on her road career.

 

"I am really happy with this title," she said. "Next it will be the road. Great races are coming up but first I will enjoy the title."

 

Lechner had a fantastic ride and managed to stay clear of her rivals all the way to the finish, taking a hugely celebrated silver medal. The battle for bronze was between Helen Wyman and Sanne Cant, with the Brit launching a late attack to take the final spot on the podium.

 

The race was one of the most highly anticipated of the week, with it expected to come down to an exciting duel between Vos and archrival Katie Compton. With the American having had the upper hand for most of the season, Vos' reign was clearly under threat but the public were denied the battle that everyone expected.

 

Compton got her race off to a disastrous start when she fell back into around 20th place after the opening sprint. While Vos was already riding in 5th, Compton was back in the middle of the field and as she desperately tried to get back in contention, she tangled with Pavla Havlikova.

 

When she was finally back on her bike, Compton was almost at the back of the peloton and spent the rest of the race in chase mode. At the end of the first lap, she had made it up into 8th but having already lost more than 30 seconds, her rainbow dreams had already been crushed.

 

Compton made it up to Wyman and Cant but at the end she paid the price for the long chase and started to fade. Having lost all chances of a podium place, she gave up and ended the race back in 9th.

 

The World Championships continue tomorrow when the U23 men battle for the rainbow jersey in the morning while the elite men will put an end to the weekend at 15.00 CET.

 

Bad start for Compton

The rider to win the opening sprint and lead the peloton onto the first muddy section was Italian Eva Lechner but she was quickly overtaken by Helen Wyman (Great Briain) who started to string things out. While defending champion Marianne Vos had got a solid start and was riding in 5th, Katie Compton (USA) had certainly hoped for more as she was riding back in around 20th position.

 

Disaster struck for the pre-race favourite when she tangled with Pavla Havlikova (Czech Republic) and when she was finally back on her bike, she was almost at the back of the peloton. There was no waiting for her at the front, with Lechner having taken over from Wyman and Vos riding in 3rd.

 

A trio gets clear

That trio slightly separated itself from the rest, with Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany), Ellen Van Looy (Belgium) and Sanne Cant (Belgium) being their nearest chasers. Meanwhile, Compton had started to overtake riders but she faced a massive task to get back to the front.

 

Wyman got into difficult in a muddy section and fell off the pace. As Vos was the only one able to ride a muddy climb, Lechner also fell off the pace, with Vos opening a slight gap already on the first lap.

 

Lechner rejoins Vos

Vos almost crashed when she slightly slid out in the mud, allowing Lechner to get back onto her wheel. The Italian showed that she was riding strongly when she went straight to the front, keeping the pace high to avoid the chasers getting back on.

 

Compton had now started to move up and was constantly passing riders, riding in about 10th position. Meanwhile, Van Looy and Wyman had joined forces to form the first chase group behind the two leaders.

 

Vos on her own

Vos showed her class on a steep climb when she dropped Lechner shortly before entering the finishing straight for the first time. The defending champion crossed the line with a 5-second gap over Lechner while Wyman was already at 19 seconds. Compton was now 10th, riding with a three-rider group that was 35 seconds behind the lone Vos.

 

Vos was now riding hard and opened up a massive gap over Lechner. Being the lone leader, Vos was speeding ahead and choosing the right lines and it already seemed that the race had been decided.

 

Kupfernagel crashes

Kupfernagel had started to slow after her good start and things only got more difficult when she had a small crash. Meanwhile, Lechner was still riding well in 2nd but she kept losing time to Vos.

 

Compton was now closing in one Cant and Wyman - who had joined forces - and was riding in 5th position after overtaking Van Looy. The American was clearly in a league of her own among the riders she was battling but her true rival was far ahead and completely out of sight.

 

Vos with a big gap

Vos entered the finishing straight to start the penultimate lap with a solid gap, having put 23 seconds into Lechner. Cant was next at 48 seconds while Wyman and Compton had lost 51 seconds, meaning that Compton had lost 15 seconds on the second lap. Sels and Van Looy were riding together in 6th and 7th.

 

Apparently, Kupfernagel had been more hurt in the crash than first suggested as the German left the race at the end of the lap. Meanwhile, Compton has now dropped Wyman and caught Cant, now having the benefit that she could choose her own lines.

 

Compton is dropped

However, Compton suddenly appeared to pay the price for a race spent in chase mode as she suddenly fell off the pace. She was quickly passed by Wyman and in a matter of seconds she was completely out of sight for both Cant and Wyman.

 

Wyman made it back up to Cant while Vos crossed the line to start the fourth and final lap. Lechner was still doing a good job to hold onto 2nd and crossed the line with a 52-second deficit. However, she had lost a bit of time to her two chasers who were now 1.09 behind while Compton was already 18 seconds further adrift.

 

A battle for silver

On the final lap, the real race was the one for second as Wyman and Cant now had Lechner in sight and were working together in a final attempt to reel in the lone Italian. Compton appeared to be breathing unusually hard and was maybe suffering from an asthma attack similar to the one that had taken her out of the last World Cup race in Nommay one week ago.

 

Despite riding completely on her own, Vos was clearly not slowing down, putting on a show for the home public as she kept riding hard. Lechner tried to do the same thing but the Italian was clearly struggling at the end of a hard race. However, she didn't lose any time to Wyman and Cant and as she was halfway through the lap, only disaster could deny her the silver medal.

 

Wyman goes for bronze

This was when Wyman decided that it was time to go for the bronze medal, launching a fierce attack that saw her open an immediate gap to Cant. The Brit clearly had left something in the tanks and soloed clear, with her eyes on the final step on the podium.

 

Meanwhile, Vos was now already celebrating, being pretty emotional about taking another win on home soil. She stayed safe on the final two climbs and the descent in between before getting onto the finishing straight where she grabbed an orange banner to celebrate her sixth consecutive win at the World Championships.

 

Lechner takes silver

Lechner survived her struggles to take a well-deserved 2nd place, keeping a solid gap over her chasers to take silver. Cant had closed in on Wyman in the final part but ran out of metres and had to settle for a hugely disappointing 4th.

 

Compton had collapsed completely and so Niki Harris was allowed to take 5th ahead of Lucie Chainel-Lefevre, Loes Sels and Thalita De Jong. Compton finished in 9th, 2.58 behind Vos, while Caroline Mani (France) rounded out the top 10.

 

Result:

1. Marianne Vos 39.26

2. Eva Lechner +1.07

3. Helen Wyman +1.17

4. Sanne Cant +1.20

5. Nikki Harris +2.33

6. Lucie Chainel-Lefevre +2.43

7. Loes Sels +2.47

8. Thalita De Jong +2.52

9. Katie Compton +2.58

10. Caroline Mani +2.58