GIETEN, NETHERLANDS: On a sunny but blustery day, Klaas Vantornout had to contend with fierce winds, sticky mud and a charging Sven Nys to win the fifth edition of the 2012 Superprestige series at Gieten. The Sunweb-Revor duo of Vantornout and Kevin Pauwels joined Nys (Landbouwkrediet) when the Belgian champ attacked on the finishing straight heading into the fourth lap, and the three rode the rest of the race together, with Nys and Vantornout trading salvos as Pauwels visibly struggled on their wheels. The finish looked to come down to a straight-up sprint, but a bobble first by Pauwels, and then by Nys, who slipped out of his pedal and tapped his foot to the ground right before entering the pavement, left Vantornout alone to push to the line. Nys buried himself in a sprint to catch and come alongside the lanky Vantornout, but ran out of road before he could overcome him for the win, losing his first Superprestige race of 2012 by inches.
Vantornout and Nys traded leads until the end © Bart Hazen
It was a day of retribution for the Sunweb-Revor team, who have been plagued by crashes, mechanicals and near misses for much of the season. Rob Peeters (Telenet-Fidea), who chased solo for much of the latter half of the race, followed in fourth, with a resigned Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) crossing in fifth a few lengths ahead of Bart Aernouts (AA Drink). American Jonathan Page took 15th.
“I knew I had to take advantage of my strong final lap,” said Vantornout. “Nys has a good sprint, so I had to escape. I pulled hard and was lucky that Nys made a mistake. I really needed this win. Nys is clearly strongest this year, but we will try to beat him every week. Now this is my best season.”
With 74 points, Nys continues to lead the Superprestige series, ahead of Albert’s 63 and Pauwels’ 61.
The women’s field welcomed back World Champion Marianne Vos (Rabobank), who opted to return to cyclocross on her home turf. The Dutch wonder wasted no time reasserting herself, taking the holeshot and attacking to establish an immediate gap with European champion Helen Wyman (Kona). The pair rode together for much of the race, but the familiar script did not play out as usual – rather than Vos storming away for the win, it was Wyman who dropped the world champion and raised her hands in solo victory. Vos gave a smile and a wave to the crowd as she crossed in second, and Sanne Cant followed in third.
“It’s Marianne’s first race back, and it’s a really tough one,” said Wyman. “So I thought, keep going, keep going and see what happens. It was brilliant.”
In the U23 race, Wout van Aert (Telenet-Fidea) won solo ahead of Jens Adams (BKCP-Powerplus), with Wietse Bosmans (BKCP-Powerplus) following in third. Mathieu van der Poel continued his winning streak in the Juniors, riding a blistering solo race to finish well alone.
Bart Hazen Photo Galleries:
Elite Men:
Elite Women:
U23:
Juniors
Results:
