CYCLOCROSS 2011/2012 - THE BOOK

CYCLOCROSS 2011/2012

BY BÁLINT HAMVAS

8 Preface

10 Crossvegas

14 Superprestige#1Ruddervoorde

20 UCIWorldCup#1Plzen

26 UCIWorldCup#1Tabor

32 Superprestige#2Zonhoven

38 RiderinfocusBartWellens

46 GVA#1Koppenberg

52 GVA#2Ronse

58 Superprestige#3Hamme-Zogge

64 GVA#3Hasselt

70 Superprestige#4Asper-Gavere

76 WorldCup#3Koksijde

82 Superprestige#5Gieten

88 SpecialfocusTimekeeping

92 WorldCup#4Igorre

98 Scheldecross#5Antwerp

104 Druivencross#5Overijse

110 GVA#4GPRouwmeer

116 WorldCup#5Namur

122 Superprestige#6Diegem

128 WorldCup#6Heusden-Zolder

134 GVA#5Azencross-Loenhout

140 GVA#6SvenNys-Baal

146 NationalChampions

148 WorldCup#7Lievin

154 SpecialfocusVisitingtheBioracerfactory

162 WorldCup#8Hoogerheide

168 WorldChampionshipsKoksijde

176 GVA#7Krawatencross

182 Superprestige#7Hoogstraten

188 Superprestige#8Middlekerke

194 GVA#8Sluitingprijs

200 SpecialfocusDayofthefan

208 IndoorMastersHasselt

214 Thankyouportraits

216 Colophon

CONTeNTS

UCI CYCLO CROSS WORLD CUP SEASON 2011-2012CROSSVegAS

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CROSSVeGAS

CYCLOCROSS 2011-2012CROSSVegAS

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Despite all the social media in the world, some-times planet Earth is still a very big place, where continents are all the same separated by oceans and, more importantly, cultural differences. Ameri-can pants aren’t British pants, an Englishman who demands does not do the same as a Frenchman qui demande, and American cyclocross isn’t European cyclocross.

Quite some time before muddy bikes are on most euro minds, the Americans are already knee deep in muck. every year a few of the lesser europeans head over, mostly for uCI points, but with the World Champs in Louisville next year, a couple more made the trip to Las Vegas this season for CrossVegas, the biggest of the American races.

Among the chief European contenders were Telenet-Fidea teammates Rob Peeters and Bart Wellens, U23 World Champion Lars van der Haar and Rabobank Belgian Bart Aernouts. Together with the stars of American ‘cross – Jeremy Powers, Ryan Trebon, Timothy Johnson and others – they went for the hole shot (first in the first corner), grabbed dollars along the way (good for some extra cash) and let themselves be heckled by the crowd (for fun, even).

And in the end, all the homegrown stars and all the continental big boys were trumped by a little kid from Holland who, like his compatriot predecessor, goes by the name of Lars. Van der Haar outsprinted Christian Heule and Rob Peeters in a narrow photo finish win, and by doing so scared the entire peloton for when he eventually grows up and joins the elite riders.


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Bart Wellens

“It’s dark now, we’re far away from home, and I am as stressed as always.

This is completely different than what I’m used to”


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UCYCLOCROSS 2011-2012SupeRpReSTIge #1 RuDDeRVOORDe

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Just as the road season is coming to an end, in one smooth notion the cycling world’s attention turns to the field. Tales of alps and cobbles, time trials and sprints, yellow jerseys and Ardennes hills are stashed away for a few more months, to be replaced by mud, bunnyhops, sandpits and, well, more mud. Neerpelt was a good appetizer, but the season only really got underway in Ruddervoorde, with the first race that was part of one of the three series. The weather was dry on the day but the ground was well muddy, and excitement was in the air. Who would start the year in full force and who still had some work to do?

Would Stybar’s first season on the road have an im-pact on his cyclocross abilities? And would someone finally be able to challenge the dominant trio of Albert, Nys and Stybar?

In the end, the race played out much like many cyclocross races do: with a combination of talent and well-timed efforts for some, and bad luck for others. Niels Albert also had his share of bad luck, complete with an Albert-style hissy-fit, but not even that could stop the Belgian champion. Perhaps he was driven by Roger de Vlaeminck who had slagged him off in the press only days before, saying that Albert, unlike Nys and Stybar, was not a hard worker Maybe this win was only inspired by revenge. Maybe we would get an entirely different scenario in the races to come…

SupeRpReSTIge #1 RUDDeRVOORDe

CYCLOCROSS 2011-2012SupeRpReSTIge #1 RuDDeRVOORDe

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Bart Wellens or Rob peters

laborerio in prat.Eptatur? Ped que dolenis quodisse volor ma dit, consed eium idioreptatur solo volori ni blab ilignati solest ipsaperferia et acepelit moluptatio volum ius as ma con et esciet lia veliaeptaqui odita vent quiatintur, odit uta volor aut quos ea con pro duciassime sequamu Sapellabo.

CYCLOCROSS 2011-2012uCI WORLD Cup #1 pLzeN

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More so than anything else though, Pilzen 2011 will be remem-bered by a freak start incident, where a cameraman dreamily stood standing on the road, right in front of Niels Albert, as the whistles were blown and everyone shot off into the distance. For some indeterminable reason the UCI did not call for a restart, and Albert turned the corner dozens of places behind the leaders. Just like a week earlier, he thus spent the full hour chasing back, but this time he didn’t quite make it to the leading trio of Nys, Pauwels and Stybar. As to who would make it out of those three? I guess it is all in the motivation. Beforehand Nys’ kid Thibau asked if dad could “bring home one of those white leader’s jerseys again”. And, as all good dads do, Nys listened. If only Pauwels or Stybar had children of their own…

Wine. Ruins. Scotch, antiques, leather, Sven Nys. And, accordingto several accountants, diversified investment portfolios. All things that get better over time. Or, in the case of Nys, wilier at least. A 10 inch gap in the final corner was all he needed to sneak past, and ultimately defeat, home rider zdenek Stybar in the first world cup race of the season.

uCI WORLD Cup #1 PLZeN


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UCI CYCLO CROSS WORLD CUP SEASON 2011-2012uCI WORLD Cup #1 pLzeN

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UCI CYCLO CROSS WORLD CUP SEASON 2011-2012SupeRpReSTIge #2 zONHOVeN

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Rider in focus BARTWeLLeNS

CYCLOCROSS 2011-2012RIDeR IN fOCuS / BART WeLLeNS

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Testruptiis sinvell aboreperunt apis conecabo. Ur a volorepe invente repudi dolupta quiassi musaper esenimaximi, volute num nusam iur, sitemposam natibus sundiss iminiam solorep tatur?Asitem. Dia cus am rest ad etur, quiditiis maximaio et excestibus, etureprem que nis exerio modit et et optatiature pra dolorum venime volum audae pediani voluptas autem ratento offici adipid

fACCAeCTuR? eMpORep eRfeReR uMQuAe eIuR AuT expeDIS SuM DOLORATeNDuS NATQuASpICIA VOLupTIS ANAM QuASpeRAe VOLOReMpORRO DITAeST VeNT.ARuM CONeM eS ASI RepeD MODIA DeLIS IpISIT uT LABOR


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gVA #1 KOPPeNBeRG

Ask your average cycling fan which the biggest race in the world is, and chances are they’ll answer ‘Tour de France’ without skipping a beat. Ask the same question to a Flemish cycling fan however, and they will not likely agree. To a Flemish cycling fan, there is only one race that matters: de Ronde van Vlaanderen. They like it so much that, by the time November comes around, serious withdrawal symptoms begin to terrorize the region. Hands start shaking, delusions prop up, moods grow sullen. Quick, someone, bring these people some cobbles! And that’s where the Koppenbergcrossin Oudenaarde comes in. As the name suggests, the race goes up and down the Koppenberg, taking in slippery, muddy uphill cobbles and equally slippery, muddy downhill field bits.

It is the first race of the GVA series too, so a chance for those who missed their starts in the World Cup and Superprestige series to refocus. All they had to do was win one of the most iconic races on the calendar. No biggie. Get past Sven Nys, who won this race in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Easy.

Easy? Well, only if you have the shape of early season Kevin Pauwels maybe. Also, it surely helps if Sven Nys has an ill-timed puncture right after the pits, and if Zdenek Stybar fails to spot big giant walls which are clearly besides the road he is supposed to be riding on. But, as they say, les excuses sont faites pour s’en server, excuses were made to be used. Kevin Pauwels dethroned the king of the Koppenberg and gained an iconic victory. The start of a new reign, or the beginning of a Koppenberg diarchy?

Just as the road season is coming to an end, in one smooth notion the cycling world’s attention turns to the field. Tales of alps and cobbles, time trials and sprints, yellow jerseys and Ardennes hills are stashed away for a few more months, to be replaced by mud, bunnyhops, sandpits and, well, more mud.

UCI CYCLO CROSS WORLD CUP SEASON 2011-2012gVA #1 kOppeNBeRg

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CYCLOCROSS SEASON 2011-2012gVA #1 kOppeNBeRg

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Sanne Van paassen

“I was so proud holding that cobblestone. In front of such a crowd too, it’s simply not normal how many people are here.”

CYCLOCROSS 2011-2012gVA #1 kOppeNBeRg

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Sven Nys

“Sooner or later someone else would have won here, and Kevin is a deserving champion”


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CYCLOCROSS 2011-2012SupeRpReSTIge #4 ASpeR-gAVeRe

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unstoppable. Sometimes, some riders are just unstoppable. They point to a race, say “I will win this one” and then, they do.

Philippe Gilbert did it with the Ardennes classics last year. Fabian Cancellara reigned over the cobbled classics in a similar way in 2010 and Alberto Contador – steak issues aside – has been doing it for years with the grand tours. And, for the first few months of the 2011/2012 season, a quiet guy from Kalmthout did the same to cyclocross races.

In Asper-Gavere Kevin Pauwels was, to use the words of Sven Nys, “simply 20% faster than the rest. He’s just too quick.” The ever undulating course in Asper-Gavere was, quite unusually, bone dry thisseason. It proved to be the perfect conditions for another Pauwels demonstration. In lap 8 of 11 he saw his moment, waved goodbye to the rest of the peloton and amassed a massive35 second lead in no time at all. There were no crashes for the other contenders, no punctures, no mechanicals, no excuses. They simply could not keep up with an mpressive Kevin Pauwels whofinally managed to score his first ever Superprestige win.

SupeRpReSTIge #4 ASPeR-GAVeRe

UCI CYCLO CROSS WORLD CUP SEASON 2011-2012SupeRpReSTIge #4 ASpeR-gAVeRe

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UCI CYCLO CROSS WORLD CUP SEASON 2011-2012SupeRpReSTIge #4 ASpeR-gAVeRe

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kevin pauwels

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt as good as I did today.The way I rode away from the rest… that was fast”

CYCLOCROSS 2011-2012WORLD Cup #3 kOkSIJDe

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The first reaction must have been to sit down and have some beers, but there’s cafés for that. So, naturally, the second idea is to ride some bikes in them. Yeah, that works. Now, sandpits are cruel, laborious parts of ‘cross courses at the best of time, to have a race centered entirely around a huge, natural sandbox… that is simply epic.

Koksijde 2011 did not fail to live to its reputation. For most of the race, Kevin Pauwels and Sven Nys traded blows: Nys using his experience and superior technical skills to gain ground in the sandpits,

Pauwels profiting from his higher speed and bigger engine to catch right back up on the grass. Mano-a-mano they went for an hour, reaching the sprint line together. Sven Nys virtually threw up his hands in victory and Kevin Pauwels? Pauwels threw up his hands in indignation. Nys had veered from his line, so he felt. Pauwels’ Sunweb-Revor team filed an official complaint with the UCI, who did not see things their way. Sven Nys victorious, Kevin Pauwels enraged, and fans all over the world eager with anticipation for the World Championships on that very same Koksijde sand.

I have heard strange tales of places far away, where people go to the beach to sunbathe, relax, drink and basically, engage in frivolous frolicking. Sunbathing is usually best when there is sun though, something flanders is not really blessed with, especially not in wintertime. But, they do have a beach. And dunes. Oh, what to do with them?

WORLD Cup #3 KOKSIjDe


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UCI CYCLO CROSS WORLD CUP SEASON 2011-2012WORLD Cup #3 kOkSIJDe

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UCI CYCLO CROSS WORLD CUP SEASON 2011-2012WORLD Cup #3 kOkSIJDe

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CYCLOCROSS 2011-2012gVA #6 gp SVeN NYS / BAAL

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Next, you ought to discover which racers are best at what aspects of cyclocross. Zdenek Stybar for the stairs, Kevin Pauwels for the flat power-stretches, Sven Nys for the technical aspects, Niels Albert for the long solo attacks, Bart Wellens for the running… Combine that with the decisive aspects of the race, maybe pour everything into a spreadsheet, and then we should be able to theoretically predict who will win where, right? Right?

Or, alternatively, we could save ourselves a lot of work by simply looking at the name of the race. The GVA-leg in Baal is also known as the Grand Prix Sven Nys. It should come as no surprise, then, that of the 13 editions so far, Sven Nys has won 11, only letting himself be relegated to second place twice. Once in 2006 by Lars Boom, and once in 2002 by Mario de Clercq.

The race is on New Year’s Day, so while everyone else is popping champagne bottles and trading kisses and well wishes for the new year ahead, the cyclocross peloton is fast asleep, dreaming of mud and streaming rain. And while everyone else is nursing a hangover

and trading kisses and well wishes for the new year ahead, the cy-clocross peloton is exerting themselves, trying their very, very best to beat Nys at his race, in his hometown, on his day.

Zdenek Stybar even brought a colourful new weapon for the occa-sion. Specialized, bike sponsor for the OmegaPharma-QuickStep cy-cling team, provided him with an extraordinary pink cross vehicle. An honour bestowed upon all world champions who ride Specialized, but not one which provided Stybar with any magical new powers.No, at his race, in his hometown, on his day; there simply is no stop-ping Sven Nys.

It is not always simple knowing which riders will triumph in what races. first, you need to find out what are the most decisive parts of the race. Ok, koppenbergcross has cobbles, Namur has hills and koksijde has sand. That much is clear. But, like, Tabor has stairs, corners, beams and a bridge. That is less straightforward to figure out all of the sudden.

gVA #6GPSVeNNyS-BAAL


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UCI CYCLO CROSS WORLD CUP SEASON 2011-2012gVA #6 gp SVeN NYS - BAAL

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Sven Nys

“This was just one big, hour-long goose bumps-moment”


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CYCLOCROSS 2011/2012 - THE BOOK

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