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Photo: Ziklocross Igorre
Belgian Sven Nys (Rabobank) won the fifth round of the UCI World Cup of Cyclocross in Igorre, Spain, on Sunday.
Nys took the top spot ahead of compatriot Bart Wellens (Fidea), a repeat of the finishing order in last year’s World Cup in Igorre. Nys’s victory further solidifies his hold on the overall standings in the nine race series.
Nys’s victory seemed far from certain, however, as Frenchman Francis Mourey (Française des Jeux) charged off of the starting line and quickly built up a lead that he extended to a solid 20 seconds by the end of the first lap of a hilly route through a park in this Basque community.
Mourey seemed on his way to victory as he held a comfortable 30-second lead over a chase group that was eventually trimmed to just Nys and Wellens. The Frenchman, however, suffered a mechanical at the end of lap six – far from the pits and readily available replacement machine – and found himself forced to carry his bike and run on a 200 meter stretch of pavement leading to the start/finish line.
Nys and Wellens quickly caught and passed Mourey and, with a 15-second lead over Wellens’ teammate Klaas Vantornout and 55 over world champion Erwin Vervecken (Fidea) and Richard Groenendaal (AA Sport), the two men were bound for victory.
On the final lap, however, Nys asserted his authority and rode away from the Belgian champion, finishing a solid 15 seconds ahead of Wellens.
There were no women’s, U23 or junior races at the Igorre World Cup.1. Sven Nys (B), Rabobank 1:05:33
2. Bart Wellens (B), Fidea, at 0:15
3. Klaas Vantornout (B), Fidea, at 0:30
4. Erwin Vervecken (B), Fidea, at 0:59
5. Richard Groenendaal (Nl), Rabobank, at 1:04
6. Sven Vanthourenhout (B), Sunweb, at 1:26
7. Francis Mourey (F), Française des Jeux at 1:36
8. Thijs Al (Nl), BeOne CRC, at 1:53
9. Christian Heule (Swi), Stevens, at 2:24
10. Bart Aernouts (B,) Rabobank, at 2:30North Americans
17. Jonathan Page (USA), Sunweb, at 3:59
34. Jonathan Baker (USA), 8:02FullResults