Photo courtesy of Tim Van Wichelen
On the tails of this week’s Power Rankings, here’s this week’s Weekend Preview.
This weekend’s big race is Saturday’s edition of the Gazet van Antwerpen series, the Krawatencross Lille. It is the penultimate race in the GvA series. Sven Nys has won this race six times before, dating back to 2000, and Bart Wellens and Niels Albert each have two wins there.
Nys’s lead in the GvA series is confident but far from a done deal. Kevin Pauwels and Zdenek Stybar are both close enough in the series classification that Nys will have to call upon his legendary consistency in order to clinch the series victory. A win in this year’s GvA Trophy would be the eight for Nys, and the seventh consecutive GvA win for him – Wellens’ series victory in the 2002/2003 series is the only interruption to Nys’s incredible string of dominance.
On Sunday, the riders will head to Hoogstraten for the penultimate race in the Superprestige series. Again, Nys holds a strong but not untouchable lead over Pauwels, Stybar, and Albert.
It’s entirely possible that these two big races back-to-back this weekend could see some unpredictable finishes, as riders recover from their build-ups to Worlds, and last weekend’s race itself. As the season enters its waning weeks, there could be no better end to the season than some surprise late-season victories by perpetual top-ten performers.
I’ve got high hopes for strong finishes from some of my favorite riders. Who are yours? Share them below!