Cyclo-Cross World Cup 2016 – 7-HEUSDEN-ZOLDER [FULL RACE]

December 26, 2016

Cyclo-Cross World Cup 2016 – Stage 7 – HEUSDEN-ZOLDER – Zolder

The UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup is a season-long competition in cyclo-cross, organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). First held in the 1993–1994 season, there are currently four awards, tailored to the different categories of riders: elite men, U23 men, junior men and elite women.
The World Cup is not to be confused with the World Championship, also organised by the UCI, which is a single one day race that awards the winner with a rainbow jersey to be worn in every race till the next World Championship. Typically the World Championships are held a week or two after the end of the World Cup at the end of January or early February.

Eleven months after capturing the world title in Heusden-Zolder, Belgian Wout Van Aert (Crelan-Vastgoedservice) returned to the same racing circuit, capturing a tremendous solo victory in the seventh round of the Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup and strengthening his massive overall lead.

“It’s really weird,” Van Aert said in the flash interview following his win. “Zolder never used to be my favourite course until I turned world champion here. Now I win for the second time in a year. Clearly it does something with a person; it’s something special.”

Van Aert relegated his rivals to a race for second, finishing more than a minute ahead of surprising runner-up Laurens Sweeck (ERA Real Estate-Circus). Kevin Pauwels (Marlux-Napoleon Games) once again finished in third place. Dutch champion Mathieu van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon) didn’t have a perfect start and ran into mechanical problems, eventually ruining his run for third place and finishing 14th.

The race brings an end to the year-long unbeaten streak in the World Cup for Van der Poel. The win for Van Aert made an end to a series of second place behind his arch rival.

“It pleased me a lot to win again and a bit of show at the finish was allowed. Showing off and then claiming it was by accident isn’t my style,” Van Aert said in the flash interview.

When crossing the finish line Van Aert looked back and indicated there was nobody in sight. The move was a jab at Van der Poel. Three days earlier the latter might have hurt Van Aert’s feelings by taking time for a spectacular jump shortly after distancing the world champion late in the Superprestige round in Diegem.

Van Aert opted to try and avoid taking Van der Poel with him into the final lap. When noticing the Dutch rider had a troubled start Van Aert opened up the gas in front, never looking back. He made no mistakes on the slightly muddy course in Zolder.

“If I tactically ride this way it’s usually my best way of racing. The last few race I’ve been beaten in the final lap and I wanted to play my cards earlier. Of course it wasn’t the goal to be alone that early but I saw Mathieu didn’t get away well and I tried to make it as hard as possible for him,” Van Aert said.

Van der Poel got boxed in and nearly rode into Michael Vanthourenhout (Marlux-Napoleon Games) after an early 180 degrees corner. In the chaos he also hit his foot. It cost him a good position early on and forced him to swap shoes in the third lap.

“I took a good start but got forced into the barriers. I really wasn’t happy with that. With all the pushing going on I wrecked my shoe. Once I swapped my shoe I realized that I had to focus for a podium result,” Van der Poel told Sporza. When asked who was responsible, Van der Poel said, “I know who did it and I’ll surely remember.”

While Van der Poel was being flipper-balled in the peloton, Van Aert surged away with European champion Toon Aerts (Telenet-Fidea), who tried to hold his wheel. Laurens Sweeck quickly went in search of the duo but he was never able to close the gap.

“Gianni Vermeersch lost the wheel and the gap was quickly up to 10 seconds,” Sweeck told Sporza. “I briefly came closer but Wout had a good section at the back-end of the course where he opened up the gap again.”

After the opening lap Van Aert and Aerts were nine seconds ahead of Sweeck, Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) and Gianni Vermeersch (Steylaerts-Verona). Kevin Pauwels, David van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon) and a well started Lars Boom (Astana). Mathieu van der Poel was in a third group at 21 seconds from the two leaders. During the second lap Van Aert dropped Aerts, with Sweeck riding alone in third place.

Meanwhile, Mathieu van der Poel moved up to fourth place at half a minute from leader Van Aert. At the beginning of the third lap, Van der Poel switched his shoe and that incident threw him out of the top 10. Van Aert didn’t mind. With six laps to go he was a minute ahead of rival Van der Poel. Aerts had a flat tyre, losing his second place to Sweeck.

For Vermeersch, the Christmas races weren’t bringing him much luck. Three days ago in Diegem, he rode for a top five until he broke his derailleur. On Monday, the same mechanical problem happened on a steep off-camber climb. Game over for the Belgian rider.

Halfway through the race, Van Aert was enjoying a very comfortable lead of 45 seconds over Sweeck. Van der Poel gained a lot of positions and popped up in the group that rode for third place at one minute, with Michael Vanthourenhout and Aerts. Pauwels, Meeusen and a fading Boom were ten seconds further back.

In the closing laps, Van Aert kept expanding his lead as he rode flawlessly over the challenging course. Sweeck rode a similar time trial in second place. He profited from the tactical battle for third place that unfolded behind him. The pace in this group often dropped on the long finishing straight, allowing dropped riders to bridge back up.

When hitting the final lap Sweeck trailed Van Aert by just over a minute. Van der Poel, Aerts, Meeusen, Pauwels and Vanthourenhout trailed the leader by nearly two minutes. With a late surge in the final lap Van der Poel was headed for third place but then flatted and sat up.

“It was useless to do the effort. I think third place was mine until I flatted. What was left was too technical and difficult to bother,” Van der Poel said. Pauwels was pleased to take over third place from Van der Poel, after holding off Aerts in a close sprint.

“In the end Mathieu was gone but he had a mechanical. I’m often in third place these days but I’m not complaining,” Pauwels told Sporza.

In the World Cup standings Van Aert picked up 80 points and extends his lead over Pauwels up to a massive 91 points. Sweeck is ten points further back. The penultimate round of the World Cup will be held on the 15th of January in Fiuggi, Italy.

Results :
1 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice 1:05:22
2 Laurens Sweeck (Bel) ERA-Circus 0:01:10
3 Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games 0:01:41
4 Toon Aerts (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions
5 Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions 0:01:57
6 Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games 0:02:01
7 Tim Merlier (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice 0:02:03
8 Jens Adams (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice
9 Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Telenet Fidea Lions 0:02:21
10 David Van Der Poel (Ned) Beobank-Corendon 0:02:25
11 Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team 0:02:28
12 Clement Venturini (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:02:29
13 Michael Boros (Cze) ERA-Circus 0:02:43
14 Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned) Beobank-Corendon 0:02:49
15 Marcel Meisen (Ger) Steylaerts-Verona 0:02:56
16 Daan Soete (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions 0:03:00
17 Jim Aernouts (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions 0:03:08
18 Stephen Hyde (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com 0:03:11
19 Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Beobank-Corendon 0:03:37
20 Stan Godrie (Ned) Rabobank Development Team 0:03:42
21 Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo Mtb Racing Team 0:03:56
22 Sascha Weber (Ger) 0:04:14
23 Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Telenet Fidea Lions 0:04:17
24 Ismael Esteban Aguando (Spa) 0:04:21
25 Simon Zahner (Swi) 0:04:32
26 Rob Peeters (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice 0:04:33
27 Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) 0:04:34
28 Steve Chainel (Fra) 0:04:45
29 Martin Haring (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 0:04:47
30 Daan Hoeyberghs (Bel) Beobank-Corendon 0:04:49
31 Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:05:02
32 Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels 0:05:20
33 Luca Braidot (Ita) 0:05:22
34 Alois Falenta (Fra) 0:05:32
35 Tomas Paprstka (Cze) Expres Cz-Merida Team Kolin 0:05:43
36 Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) ERA-Circus 0:05:47
37 Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Beobank-Corendon 0:05:55
38 Matthieu Boulo (Fra) 0:05:57
39 Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa) 0:06:05
40 Melvin Rulliere (Fra) 0:06:18
41 Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games 0:06:35
42 Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing
43 Lorenzo Samparisi (Ita)
44 Kevin Suarez Fernandez (Spa)
45 Yoann Corbihan (Fra)
46 Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles
47 Kenneth Hansen (Den)
48 Diether Sweeck (Bel) ERA-Circus
49 Anthonin Didier (Fra)
50 Nicolas Samparisi (Ita)
51 Michal Malik (Cze)
52 Daniele Braidot (Ita)
53 Flavien Dassonville (Fra) Hp-Btp Auber 93
54 Gusty Bausch (Lux)
55 Marvin Schmidt (Ger)
56 Martin Eriksson (Swe)
57 Mark Mcconnell (Can) Hot Sauce Cycling X Garneau
58 Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Koch Engineering / Muesing Racing Team
59 Pit Schlechter (Lux) Leopard Pro Cycling
60 Scott Thiltges (Lux)
61 Pol Weisgerber (Lux)
62 Daniel Ania Gonzalez (Spa)
63 Philipp Butzow (Lux)

World Cup standings :
1 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice 450 pts
2 Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games 359
3 Laurens Sweeck (Bel) ERA-Circus 349
4 Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions 312
5 Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games 306
6 Toon Aerts (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions 301
7 Mathieu Van Der Poel (Ned) Beobank-Corendon 277
8 Tim Merlier (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice 239
9 Corne Van Kessel (Ned) Telenet Fidea Lions 238
10 Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Team Steylaerts 212
11 Jim Aernouts (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions 206
12 Dieter Vanthourenhout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games 190
13 Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Beobank-Corendon 185
14 Marcel Meisen (Ger) Steylaerts-Verona 181
15 Daan Soete (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions 170
16 Jens Adams (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice 162
17 Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Telenet Fidea Lions 160
18 David Van Der Poel (Ned) Beobank-Corendon 159
19 Stephen Hyde (USA) Cannondale p/b Cyclocrossworld.com 148
20 Michael Boros (Cze) ERA-Circus 145
21 Rob Peeters (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice 141
22 Daan Hoeyberghs (Bel) Beobank-Corendon 136
23 Clement Venturini (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 133
24 Vincent Baestaens (Bel) Beobank-Corendon 131
25 Diether Sweeck (Bel) ERA-Circus 130
26 Simon Zahner (Swi) 129
27 Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo Mtb Racing Team 127
28 Steve Chainel (Fra) 125
29 Stan Godrie (Ned) Rabobank Development Team 125
30 Matthieu Boulo (Fra) 106
31 Quinten Hermans (Bel) Telenet Fidea Lions 98
32 Martin Haring (Svk) Dukla Banska Bystrica 88
33 Sascha Weber (Ger) 84
34 Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) ERA-Circus 83
35 Severin Sagesser (Swi) 82
36 Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga Ibanez (Spa) 78
37 Patrick Van Leeuwen (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels 74
38 Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Marlux-Napoleon Games 73
39 Ian Field (GBr) Hargroves Cycles 72
40 Lars Van Der Haar (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 68
41 Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing 63
42 Ismael Esteban Aguando (Spa) 61
43 Jeremy Martin (Can) Focus CX Team Canada 55
44 Tobin Ortenblad (USA) Santa Cruz Factory Racing 53
45 Alois Falenta (Fra) 53
46 Michael Van Den Ham (Can) Garneau – Easton Cycling 52
47 Jan Nesvadba (Cze) Expres Cz-Merida Team Kolin 51
48 Tomas Paprstka (Cze) Expres Cz-Merida Team Kolin 49
49 Kevin Suarez Fernandez (Spa) 48
50 Jeremy Powers (USA) Aspire Racing 45
51 Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team 40
52 Travis Livermon (USA) Maxxis-Shimano Pro Cyclocross 40
53 Lukas Winterberg (Swi) 39
54 James Driscoll (USA) Raleigh Clement 39
55 Anthony Clark (USA) Squid 38
56 Dan Timmerman (USA) Stan’S Notubes Elite CX 37
57 Kerry Werner (USA) Kona Endurance Team 37
58 Francis Mourey (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept 37
59 Jonathan Page (USA) Fuji 34
60 Jeremy Durrin (USA) Neon Velo Cycling Team 32
61 Allen Krughoff (USA) Boulder Cycle Sport/Yogaglo 32
62 Twan Van Den Brand (Ned) Cyclingteam Jo Piels 30
63 Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) 29
64 Lorenzo Samparisi (Ita) 29
65 Melvin Rulliere (Fra) 28
66 Craig Richey (Can) Garneau – Easton Cycling 28
67 Luca Braidot (Ita) 27
68 Justin Lindine (USA) Apex / NBX / Trek 26
69 Daniel Summerhill (USA) Maxxis-Shimano 25
70 Niels Wubben (Ned) 22
71 Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing 18
72 Andrew Dillman (USA) Cyclocross Alliance 16
73 Hector Fernando Riveros Paez (Col) 16
74 Troy Wells (USA) Team Clif Bar 16
75 Mark Mcconnell (Can) Hot Sauce Cycling X Garneau 16
76 Andreas Moser (Swi) 16
77 Curtis White (USA) 14
78 Radomir Simunek (Cze) Era Real Estate – Circus 13
79 Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa) 12
80 Nicolas Samparisi (Ita) 12
81 Benjamin Sonntag (Ger) Team Clif Bar 11
82 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) 10
83 Ivan Gicquiau (Fra) 9
84 Anthonin Didier (Fra) 9
85 Kenneth Hansen (Den) 9
86 Daniele Braidot (Ita) 8
87 Yannick Gruner (Ger) 8
88 Michal Malik (Cze) 8
89 Yoann Corbihan (Fra) 7
90 Matej Lasak (Cze) 6
91 Antonin Marecaille (Fra) AVC Aix En Provence 6
92 Jens Vandekinderen (Bel) Kalas-NNOF 6
93 Aaron Schooler (Can) Focus CX Team Canada 6
94 Felix Drumm (Ger) 4
95 Michael Wildhaber (Swi) 3
96 Vincent Dias Dos Santos (Lux) 3
97 Christian Helmig (Lux) 3
98 Max Lindenau (Ger) 2
99 Marvin Schmidt (Ger) 1
100 Gusty Bausch (Lux) 1
101 Yu Takenouchi (Jpn) 1