Lars van der Haar winning the World Cup at Valkenburg. © Thomas van Bracht
HEUSDEN-ZOLDER, BELGIUM –Lars van der Haar (Rabobank Development Team) again proved that he deserved to be in the Elite rankings, taking the win at the World Cup in Zolder in a sprint against Martin Bina (Kwadro-Stannah). Behind them, former World Champion Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-Quick-Step) took the last step on the podium ahead of a chain of 13 riders.
This was Stybar’s second appearance of the six he is reportedly scheduled to attend this season, possibly leading to a World Championship bid. Stybar acted as the aggressor for much of the race, keeping the pace high on the already fast course.
The former World Champion turned road racer went head-to-head with Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus) going into the first turn, while just behind, the tight corner bottlenecked the field, claiming Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) as its second casualty of the day. Albert’s fall on the section sent him to the tail end of the race, forcing him to fight to make up ground. Earlier in the day in the women’s race Nikki Haris (Young Telenet-Fidea) had her own trouble going into the same turn as she got pinched off between the inside corner and riders to her right.
By the second lap, seven riders including Stybar, van der Haar, Walsleben, Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Napoleon Games), Rob Peeters (Telenet-Fidea), and Martin Bina (Kwadro-Stannah) had managed a small gap, with the pace accelerating from repeated attacks by Stybar.
The chase group of seven, including World Champion Sven Nys (Crelan-KDL) wasn’t far behind, however. Albert, meanwhile, pressed on nearly 30 seconds down on the leaders.
By lap six the two groups had merged with a frustrated Albert, continuing the chase some 19 seconds down, unaided by a drafting Sunweb-Napoleon Games rider. Seeing his team leader in distress on the tarmac the next time around, Wietse Bosmans elected to sit up to help draft Albert onto the lead group. But while the move allowed Albert to finally make contact, he was nonetheless unable to move toward the front of the massive chain in the waning moments of the race.
In the final lap Stybar again attacked, trying to use his acceleration on the numerous straights, many of which were paved, to gain an advantage. But it was van der Haar, who was following right behind, that was the first to summit the final run up, mounting quickly and accelerating away with a decisive gap. Stybar, meanwhile, had trouble clipping in allowing Bina to come around to take second.
While the U23, Junior, and Women’s races were heavily populated with US racers, the men’s field had four North Americans, with Belgian regular Jonathan Page finished 35th, with Canada’s Aaron Schooler taking 43rd right ahead of the US’s Jeremy Durrin. Behind them, Zach McDonald took 46th. Check in on the latest news from the U.S. contingent at our EuroCrossCamp 2013 page.
Check out the women’s report here. Junior and U23 results follow Elite Men.
World Cup #5 Heusden-Zolder Photo Gallery (Elite Men/U23/Juniors):
Heusden-Zolder World Cup 2013 Elite Men Results
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Age* | Result | PaR | PcR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lars VAN DER HAAR | NED | 22 | 1:02:41 | 200 | 200 |
| 2 | Martin BINA | CZE | 30 | 1:02:42 | 160 | 160 |
| 3 | Zdenek STYBAR | CZE | 28 | 1:02:43 | 140 | 140 |
| 4 | Philipp WALSLEBEN | GER | 26 | 1:02:44 | 120 | 120 |
| 5 | Rob PEETERS | BEL | 28 | 1:02:45 | 110 | 110 |
| 6 | Sven NYS | BEL | 37 | 1:02:45 | 100 | 100 |
| 7 | Klaas VANTORNOUT | BEL | 31 | 1:02:46 | 90 | 90 |
| 8 | Kevin PAUWELS | BEL | 29 | 1:02:48 | 80 | 80 |
| 9 | Thijs VAN AMERONGEN | NED | 27 | 1:02:51 | 70 | 70 |
| 10 | Bart AERNOUTS | BEL | 31 | 1:02:53 | 60 | 60 |
| 11 | Jim AERNOUTS | BEL | 24 | 1:02:56 | 58 | 58 |
| 12 | Marcel WILDHABER | SUI | 28 | 1:03:08 | 56 | 56 |
| 13 | Niels ALBERT | BEL | 27 | 1:03:10 | 54 | 54 |
| 14 | Wietse BOSMANS | BEL | 22 | 1:03:30 | 52 | 52 |
| 15 | Julien TARAMARCAZ | SUI | 26 | 1:03:53 | 50 | 50 |
| 16 | Thijs AL | NED | 33 | 1:03:54 | 48 | 48 |
| 17 | Eddy VAN IJZENDOORN | NED | 28 | 1:03:58 | 46 | 46 |
| 18 | Tom MEEUSEN | BEL | 25 | 1:04:02 | 44 | 44 |
| 19 | Marcel MEISEN | GER | 24 | 1:04:03 | 42 | 42 |
| 20 | Arnaud GRAND | SUI | 23 | 1:04:04 | 40 | 40 |
| 21 | Niels WUBBEN | NED | 25 | 1:04:05 | 39 | 39 |
| 22 | Simon ZAHNER | SUI | 30 | 1:04:07 | 38 | 38 |
| 23 | Enrico FRANZOI | ITA | 31 | 1:04:12 | 37 | 37 |
| 24 | Ondrej BAMBULA | CZE | 26 | 1:04:13 | 36 | 36 |
| 25 | Martin HARING | SVK | 27 | 1:04:15 | 35 | 35 |
| 26 | Steve CHAINEL | FRA | 30 | 1:04:15 | 34 | 34 |
| 27 | Twan VAN DEN BRAND | NED | 24 | 1:04:32 | 33 | 33 |
| 28 | Mariusz GIL | POL | 30 | 1:04:47 | 32 | 32 |
| 29 | Javier RUIZ DE LARRINAGA IBANEZ | ESP | 34 | 1:04:59 | 31 | 31 |
| 30 | Aitor HERNANDEZ GUTIERREZ | ESP | 31 | 1:05:14 | 30 | 30 |
| 31 | Micki VAN EMPEL | NED | 23 | 1:05:29 | 29 | 29 |
| 32 | Patrick VAN LEEUWEN | NED | 28 | 1:05:44 | 28 | 28 |
| 33 | Ian FIELD | GBR | 27 | 1:05:56 | 27 | 27 |
| 34 | Robert GAVENDA | SVK | 25 | 1:06:10 | 26 | 26 |
| 35 | Jonathan PAGE | USA | 37 | 1:06:11 | 25 | 25 |
| 36 | Christoph PFINGSTEN | GER | 26 | 1:06:25 | 24 | 24 |
| 37 | Michael (JR) SCHWEIZER | GER | 22 | 1:06:25 | 23 | 23 |
| 38 | Vladimir KYZIVAT | CZE | 31 | 1:06:41 | 22 | 22 |
| 39 | Kenneth HANSEN | DEN | 22 | 1:07:35 | 21 | 21 |
| 40 | Sascha WEBER | GER | 25 | 1:07:48 | 20 | 20 |
| 41 | Lubomir PETRUS | CZE | 23 | 1:07:50 | 19 | 19 |
| 42 | Agustin NAVARRO VIDAL | ESP | 35 | 1:07:56 | 18 | 18 |
| 43 | Aaron SCHOOLER | CAN | 28 | 1:08:28 | 17 | 17 |
| 44 | Jeremy DURRIN | USA | 25 | 1:08:49 | 16 | 16 |
| 45 | Yannick MAYER | GER | 22 | 1:08:51 | 15 | 15 |
| 46 | Zach MCDONALD | USA | 22 | 1:08:53 | 14 | 14 |
| 47 | Max WALSLEBEN | GER | 23 | 1:09:15 | 13 | 13 |
| 48 | Joachim PARBO | DEN | 39 | 1:09:17 | 12 | 12 |
| 49 | Christoph AMBROZIAK | GER | 30 | 1:09:26 | 11 | 11 |
| 50 | Robert GLAJZA | SVK | 42 | 1:10:17 | 10 | 10 |
| 51 | Jose Antonio DIEZ ARRIOLA | ESP | 31 | 5 | 5 | |
| 52 | Angus EDMOND | NZL | 37 | 5 | 5 | |
| 53 | Alexander REVELL | NZL | 28 | 5 | 5 | |
| 54 | Michel VUELTA IZQUIERDO | ESP | 22 | 5 | 5 |
Heusden-Zolder World Cup 2013 Junior Results
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Age* | Result | PaR | PcR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam TOUPALIK | CZE | 17 | 43:47:00 | 30 | 30 |
| 2 | Yannick PEETERS | BEL | 17 | 43:54:00 | 20 | 20 |
| 3 | Thijs AERTS | BEL | 17 | 43:56:00 | 15 | 15 |
| 4 | Joris NIEUWENHUIS | NED | 17 | 43:58:00 | 12 | 12 |
| 5 | Kobe GOOSSENS | BEL | 17 | 43:58:00 | 10 | 10 |
| 6 | Max GULICKX | NED | 16 | 44:09:00 | 8 | 8 |
| 7 | Jelle SCHUERMANS | BEL | 17 | 44:19:00 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | Thomas JOSEPH | BEL | 17 | 44:38:00 | 4 | 4 |
| 9 | Roman LEHKY | CZE | 17 | 44:52:00 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | Elias VAN HECKE | BEL | 17 | 44:55:00 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Stijn CALUWE | BEL | 17 | 44:59:00 | ||
| 12 | Pascal EENKHOORN | NED | 16 | 45:00:00 | ||
| 13 | Eli ISERBYT | BEL | 16 | 45:00:00 | ||
| 14 | Manuel TODARO | ITA | 17 | 45:13:00 | ||
| 15 | Sieben WOUTERS | NED | 17 | 45:23:00 | ||
| 16 | Johan JACOBS | SUI | 16 | 45:30:00 | ||
| 17 | Gianni VAN DONINK | BEL | 17 | 45:31:00 | ||
| 18 | Peter GOGUEN | USA | 17 | 45:38:00 | ||
| 19 | Fabio JAKOBSEN | NED | 17 | 45:41:00 | ||
| 20 | Stefano SALA | ITA | 16 | 45:43:00 | ||
| 21 | Moreno PELLIZZON | ITA | 17 | 45:46:00 | ||
| 22 | Jens TEIRLINCK | BEL | 17 | 46:06:00 | ||
| 23 | Koen VAN DIJKE | NED | 17 | 46:07:00 | ||
| 24 | Timon RUEGG | SUI | 17 | 46:22:00 | ||
| 25 | Briek HERMANS | BEL | 16 | 46:26:00 | ||
| 26 | Nick VERHEYEN | BEL | 16 | 46:41:00 | ||
| 27 | Maxx CHANCE | USA | 17 | 46:44:00 | ||
| 28 | Adrian SIREK | CZE | 17 | 47:05:00 | ||
| 29 | Loc HENNAUX | BEL | 17 | 47:07:00 | ||
| 30 | Jol GRAB | SUI | 16 | 47:08:00 | ||
| 31 | Matej ULIK | SVK | 16 | 47:15:00 | ||
| 32 | Leo APPELT | GER | 16 | 47:19:00 | ||
| 33 | Rico SEIDEL | GER | 17 | 47:21:00 | ||
| 34 | Ken MUELLER | LUX | 17 | 47:23:00 | ||
| 35 | Austin VINCENT | USA | 17 | 47:23:00 | ||
| 36 | Cooper WILLSEY | USA | 16 | 47:25:00 | ||
| 37 | Mario JUNQUERA | ESP | 16 | 47:27:00 | ||
| 38 | Martin DEJMEK | CZE | 17 | 47:30:00 | ||
| 39 | Garrett GERCHAR | USA | 17 | 47:31:00 | ||
| 40 | Ian MCSHANE | USA | 16 | 47:37:00 | ||
| 41 | Martin MATEJCEK | CZE | 16 | 48:32:00 | ||
| 42 | Dominik VRANA | CZE | 17 | 48:59:00 | ||
| 43 | Jakub KURTY | SVK | 16 | 50:08:00 | ||
| 44 | Ludwig CORDS | GER | 16 | 50:17:00 | ||
| 45 | Kevin GENIETS | LUX | 16 |
Heusden-Zolder World Cup 2013 U23 Results
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Age* | Result | PaR | PcR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathieu VAN DER POEL | NED | 18 | 49:08:00 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | Wout VAN AERT | BEL | 19 | 49:19:00 | 60 | 60 |
| 3 | Mike TEUNISSEN | NED | 21 | 49:27:00 | 40 | 40 |
| 4 | Tim MERLIER | BEL | 21 | 49:30:00 | 30 | 30 |
| 5 | Stan GODRIE | NED | 20 | 49:31:00 | 25 | 25 |
| 6 | David VAN DER POEL | NED | 21 | 49:32:00 | 20 | 20 |
| 7 | Gianni VERMEERSCH | BEL | 21 | 49:34:00 | 17 | 17 |
| 8 | Michael VANTHOURENHOUT | BEL | 20 | 49:34:00 | 15 | 15 |
| 9 | Laurens SWEECK | BEL | 20 | 49:36:00 | 12 | 12 |
| 10 | Toon AERTS | BEL | 20 | 49:36:00 | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Jens ADAMS | BEL | 21 | 49:37:00 | 8 | 8 |
| 12 | Gert-Jan BOSMAN | NED | 21 | 49:43:00 | 6 | 6 |
| 13 | Yorben VAN TICHELT | BEL | 19 | 49:50:00 | 4 | 4 |
| 14 | Michael BOROS | CZE | 21 | 49:55:00 | 2 | 2 |
| 15 | Quinten HERMANS | BEL | 18 | 49:57:00 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | Tomas PAPRSTKA | CZE | 21 | 49:58:00 | ||
| 17 | Jens VANDEKINDEREN | BEL | 20 | 50:14:00 | ||
| 18 | Jonas PEDERSEN | DEN | 21 | 50:21:00 | ||
| 19 | Martijn BUDDING | NED | 18 | 50:28:00 | ||
| 20 | Curtis WHITE | USA | 18 | 50:37:00 | ||
| 21 | Daan SOETE | BEL | 19 | 50:37:00 | ||
| 22 | Severin SAEGESSER | SUI | 21 | 50:38:00 | ||
| 23 | Logan OWEN | USA | 18 | 50:41:00 | ||
| 24 | Diether SWEECK | BEL | 20 | 51:06:00 | ||
| 25 | Jakub SKALA | CZE | 20 | 51:28:00 | ||
| 26 | Lars FORSTER | SUI | 20 | 51:30:00 | ||
| 27 | Dylan PAGE | SUI | 20 | 51:34:00 | ||
| 28 | Felix DRUMM | GER | 19 | 51:43:00 | ||
| 29 | Gioele BERTOLINI | ITA | 18 | 52:04:00 | ||
| 30 | Matej LASAK | CZE | 21 | 52:27:00 | ||
| 31 | Cody KAISER | USA | 21 | 52:47:00 | ||
| 32 | Dominic GRAB | SUI | 18 | 52:52:00 | ||
| 33 | Lukas MLLER | SUI | 21 | 52:55:00 | ||
| 34 | Toki SAWADA | JPN | 19 | 52:57:00 | ||
| 35 | Andrew DILLMAN | USA | 19 | 53:06:00 | ||
| 36 | Lukas MEILER | GER | 18 | 53:10:00 | ||
| 37 | Tobin ORTENBLAD | USA | 19 | 53:52:00 | ||
| 38 | Ondrej GLAJZA | SVK | 19 | 53:52:00 | ||
| 39 | Karel SVRCINA | CZE | 18 | 54:36:00 | ||
| 40 | Fabian LIENHARD | SUI | 20 | 55:01:00 | ||
| 41 | Nikolaj Ruud OSTERGAARD | DEN | 19 | |||
| 42 | Spencer DOWNING | USA | 18 |
