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Sven Nys dominated the race, finishing almost a minute ahead of the second place finisher. © Cyclocross Online

Sven Nys dominated the race, finishing almost a minute ahead of the second place finisher. © Cyclocross Online

De Boer Avoids Crashes and Mechanicals, Takes First

As we reported yesterday, at Sunday’s race at Ronse, American Elle Anderson had a great start, leading the peleton early after the holeshot. Unfortunately, in the turn onto the cobbles, Anderson took a nasty spill with Sanne Cant. Ellen Van Loy was also caught in in the early chaos. All three women were able to fight back throughout the remainder of the race, with Van Loy taking fourth, Anderson fifth, while Cant settled for 12th.

From those who managed to survive the early crash, Helen Wyman, Sophie De Boer, Jolien Verschueren and Nikki Harris took turns at the front of the race. Both Wyman and Harris were unlucky with mechanicals throughout the race, with De Boer being the primary benefactor.

Although Wyman surged late in the race, De Boer was able to hold her off to take the win with a lead of seven seconds.

Sven Nys Leads Early and Often for a Solo Win, Stybar Back in the Swing of Cyclocross

Jan Verstraeten, Sven Nys’s team manager, was talking to Cyclocross Magazine’s contributor, Christine Vardaros, who learned that Nys was running only 1.2 bar (close to 17.7 PSI) in his Dugast Typhoons today: a risky move for most riders above 140 pounds, but he didn’t seem to have any problems after the race began. Lars van der Haar opted for a more aggressive mud tread for the day.

Mathieu Van Der Poel had a great start, and already the future looks bright for the 19-year-old Elite rider who shocked the cyclocross community with a big win last weekend.

Nys, usually more comfortable in the sixth to eighth position early on, decided to push through the group and latch on to Van Der Poel’s wheel for second. World Champion Zdenek Sybar passed both men in a sprint to take the lead. This didn’t last too long as Nys took control on the run-up.

Stybar faded as Klaas Vantornout and Kevin Pauwels joined the lead group, but by then Nys decided to make his move on the second lap, creating a gap which would continue throughout the race, and he would eventually win by 50 seconds.

2014 BPost Bank Trofee #1 – Ronse Video Highlights:

2014 BPost Bank Ronse Results: Women

2014 BPost Bank Ronse Results: Men