Monday Musette – Valverde, Oman, Algarve, and 2 Great Videos

Posted on February 15, 2010 by
1. This weekend I learned a valuable lesson: never bet against Alejandro Valverde (unless it’s July). 
“It’s February,” I thought. 
“He’s saving his best for later in the year,” I assumed. 
“The competition is more motivated than he is,” I predicted. 
I was wrong on all counts—with the lone exception being yesterday’s super-motivated stage winner, Francesco Masciarelli. My pre-race favorite, Johnny Hoogerland, finished the race in a respectable 4th-place overall—9 seconds behind the winner. The other favorites finished about where we expected: Vino, Gesink, and Danielson all finished inside the top-15. But in the end, it was Valverde who punched his victory card a bit earlier than we might be used to, thus cementing his status as the World’s most dangerous man in every race that’s not cobbled or the Tour.
2. Two stages of the Tour of Oman have come and gone, and things are running as we expected: sprinters have won the first two stages and Edvald Boassen Hagen has taken the overall lead. It was nice to see Jimmy Casper continuing Saur-Sojasun’s optimistic start to the season with a Stage 1 victory. Kudos as well to Daniele Bennati—he and Chichi seem to be one of the sport’s most-formidable sprint duos at this point the season. Here’s hoping they can keep it up once they return to Europe.
3. The early season stage races continue this week in Portugal with the Vuelta Algarve, a race with quite an interesting start list. Algarve marks the first appearance of many of the favorites for this year’s Grand Tours including Astana’s Alberto Contador, Radio Shack’s Levi Leipheimer, and Garmin’s Christian Vande Velde. Several of the sport’s best one-day men will also be using Algarve to continue their slow builds to April including Stijn Devolder, Sylvain Chavanel, Geert Steegmans, Samuel Sanchez, Sergei Ivanov, Nick Nuyens, Thor Hushovd, and Heinrich Haussler. And don’t forget the sprinters—they’re here too led by Robbie McEwan, Andre Greipel, and Julien Dean. There are also several wild cards, talented men hoping Algarve will present them with chances to take their first win of the season while the stars collect their kilometers. Of these, Geoffroy Laquatre, Ryder Hesjedal, David Zabriskie, Joaquin Rodriguez, Lars Boom, Luis Leon Sanchez, Sandy Casar, Manuel Cardoso, and Bjorn Leukemans come quickly to mind.
In the end, look for a rider talented enough to finish well in the sprints and do well in the final stage’s ITT to take the overall win. I’ll go out on a limb and pick Thor for the overall victory—he’s sure to finish well on the flatter stages and the relatively short ITT suits his strengths.  
4. There were some great cyclocross races this weekend as well—but you’ll have to come back for Erik’s Cross Report and Power Rankings to hear more about those.
Away from the racing scene we have several other goodies—including some great videos.
5. My friend Fxdwhl at lockring.not.included posted a series of excerpts from the great Merckx-era documentary, Stars and Watercarriers. Of all the scenes Fxdwl includes, this one is my favorite. It’s got it all: a funky “recovery device”, an overly demonstrative Italian soigneur, scenes from mealtime—with separate tables for riders and staff, and of course, mechanics taping bars and gluing tires. In a word, it’s perfect. (Sessa, Geert, and Kepa: I miss you, guys.)
6. Let’s jump from 1973 to 2001, and scenes from the USPS team car at Paris-Roubaix (I believe this comes via the Road to Paris documentary.  I enjoy this one for many reasons, but here are 3 of the best: it’s Paris-Roubaix in rough weather; it’s the one and only year that Mercury got an invite; and it forever answers the question as to who really ran the USPS team (if there were ever any doubts).
7. And while we’re on the subject of the 2001 Paris-Roubaix, check-out this terrific picture of Wilfred Peeters and his short-lived bid for Roubaix glory. Notice the front wheel–does it look familiar? Well, let’s just say it wasn’t standard-issue for Domo back then—heck, it wasn’t even “standard-issue” for Mercury. But that’s a long story for another day…
Enjoy your week!
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Sunday Preview – Faron, Oman, and Vorselaar

Posted on February 13, 2010 by
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! We’re still at a point in the season where the schedule bounces around a bit from one week to another. This weekend’s action occurs mainly on Sunday with one stage race ending, another beginning, and a Belgian cyclocross finale to the Superprestige. Let’s take a look:
Fotoreporter Sirotti
We begin in France where today’s Stage 4 of the Tour de Med was neutralized due to bad weather after 114km of racing with Cofidis’ Julien El Fares being declared the “winner”. Tomorrow’s showdown on the slopes of Mont Faron is threatened as well—here’s hoping the weather improves as the stage looked certain to produce some of the most exciting racing we’ve seen thus far this young season. Should the race occur unaltered, look for fireworks from the 3 strongest men still capable of taking the overall: Alejandro Valverde, Johnny Hoogerland, and Alexandre Vinokourov. Valverde and Hoogerland lie a mere 10 seconds behind FDJ’s Jussi Veikkanen, with Vino a further 7 seconds back. In the finalé, FDJ will be hard-pressed to hold down the bastille, as all 3 men possess the explosivity necessary for success on the 1st Category climb to the finish. While Valverde and Vino will be tough to beat, I’ll stick to my original prediction: Hoogerland will take it by a narrow margin. If he’s smart he’ll offer Vino the stage win in exchange for some solidarity against Valverde—his 7-second cushion offers him the wiggle room he needs to do so. Hopefully the weather will let us see what happens.
Heading farther South, weather won’t be a problem at the Tour of Oman, Eddy Merckx’s new venture. The majority of teams and riders from the Tour of Qatar have stuck around, undoubtedly drawn to the abundant sunshine and high temperatures. They better live it up though; there’s nowhere to hide after Friday when everything heads back north. As for this week, while the terrain in Oman is a bit more “diverse” than Qatar, the race is still essentially a sprinter’s paradise, aside from an 18km time trial on the final day. Look for the traditional fast men to rule the first 5 stages, with perhaps one long breakaway finding success should the sprinters’ teams feel generous. Boonen and Chicchi got the better of the rest in Qatar; Farrar, Cooke, and Napolitano will be looking for some form of revenge. In the end, Edvald Boasson Hagen should take overall the win. He showed an ability to sprint with best in Qatar and the ITT on the final day will certainly put him heads and shoulders above the rest of the competition—it’s an ideal situation for Team Sky’s first GC victory of 2010.
Finally, we head back north to Belgium and the final round of the Superprestige in Vorselaar. Sven Nys needs a miracle to take the overall title—he’ll have to win with both Niels Albert and Zdenek Stybar finishing well behind him. Stybar and Albert will certainly be eying one another closely—they’re tied for the overall lead with the spoils going to whoever crosses the line first. In the end, their game of cat and mouse could play right into Nys’ hands, perhaps giving him the leeway he’ll need to ride with a victory on the day. And the overall title? Well, stranger things have happened.
Fotoreporter Sirotti
As always, enjoy the racing—hopefully the weather wherever you reside is allowing you a ride or two as well. Please share your comments and predictions with the rest of as comments below.
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Cross Report and Power Ranking

Posted on February 11, 2010 by
If you thought the European cyclocross season ended last week at Worlds in Tabor you’re mistaken–there are still several weeks of racing left with some titles still undecided. To give us a run-down of where things stand, Erik‘s back with his weekly Cross Report and Power Ranking.  Let’s see where everyone stacks-up!  Feel free to leave your comments below!
One week after the spectacle that was the World Championships, the cyclocross community returned to its unofficial homeland for 3 races in Belgium. As is typical of this time of year, unless riders get some serious start money or are in contention for a top spot in either the Superprestige or GVA Trophy, they usually wind down their season. As a result we have another week with some major changes in the rankings. Francis Mourey, Martin Bina, Martin Zlamalik and Christan Heule all elected not to race this week and were dropped from the rankings. Needless to say, things are being shaken-up as we enter the final few weeks of the season.
At the front this week, one man stood out from the rest: Sven Nys. The Belgian champ elected to start all three races this week, winning two of them. And he most likely would have won Wednesday in Maldegem, had he been able to recover from a hard crash on the final lap. Behind him, the newly crowned World Champion, Zdenek Stybar, finished a distant 7th. Last year, Niels Albert finished 13th in Maldegem after earning the rainbow stripes and acknowledged that there’s a “rainbow curse” of sorts. Stybar quickly found his legs over the weekend and finished 2nd in Lille (GVA Trophy) and Zonhoven (Superprestige) behind Nys. Kevin Pauwels also rebounded from his poor showing at Worlds to finish on the podium in all three races. Meanwhile, Niels Albert continues to struggle with consistency, winning in Maldegem, but finishing 4th in Lille and 5th in Zonhoven.
Clearly, Sven Nys is the man to beat right now, but where does everyone else fall? Time to find out:
International Power Ranking
1. Sven Nys (3) – Nys could have gone 3 for 3 this week, but an untimely crash spoiled his trifecta. However, his win in Lille has nearly locked-up the GVA Trophy and bumped him up to second in UCI points. The Superprestige might prove too far out of reach for the Belgian, but with a total 3 races left on the calendar, he would love to go out with a bang. It should also be noted that Nys was on antibiotics this week and is just starting to feel healthy—amazing.
2. Zdenek Stybar (1) – The World Champion will be at any and every imaginable cyclocross race over the next year, so it was no surprise to see him line-up for all three races this week. Coming into the weekend, Stybar had a shot at the “Cross Quintuple” (World Championship, World Cup, UCI Points, GVA Trophy and Superprestige). However, Nys spoiled the party by out-sprinting him in Lille. He did do just enough in Zonhoven to even the score with Albert in the Supreprestige though (they’re now tied). Perhaps he’ll win the Quadruple?
3. Kevin Pauwels (n/a) – Pauwels really let me down at the World Championships, where I had him pegged for a top-10 finish. However, he bounced-back, finishing on the podium in all 3 races this week. He’s one of the many stars of the future and while he’s only had one big win this year (Round & of the World Cup Round in Zolder), he has consistently mixed-it-up with the big boys. Next season could be a big one for the young Belgian.
4. Niels Albert (10) – Albert picked up the win in Maldegem after Nys crashed out of the lead, but struggled over the weekend, barely finishing inside the top-five. He’s had to watch Stybar storm through the last half if this season and take away the World Cup, the World Championship and UCI points. Hopefully he can grab the Superprestige title, but I’m sure Stybar would love to snag that as well.
5. Klaas Vantornout (2) – Vantornout barely missed the top step of the podium in Tabor; it’s starting to become a theme for the 28-year-old Belgian. In fact, while Vantornout hasn’t won a single race this year, he’s only finished outside the top-10 once. Talk about consistency! It won’t take much for Vantornout to start picking-up wins next year, but he’ll have to contend with the usual suspects for the next decade or so.
6. Bart Wellens (6) – Wellens has bounced around the top-10 during the latter half of the season after suffering a severe illness last year. This week, the 4-time World Champion finished on the podium in Maldegem, but struggled over the weekend. I think at this point, Wellens can toss-out this season and start thinking about next year.
7. Sven Vanthourenhout (n/a) – Vanthourenhout returns to the rankings this week after a string of top-10 finishes. It’s been a rough season for the Belgian and while things have smoothed out a bit, his lack of success at the bigger races kept him off Belgium’s Worlds team. It will be interesting to see if he can turn things around next year.
8. Bart Aernouts (n/a) – Aernouts has had a surprisingly solid season, continuing the trend with a pair of top-10’s over the weekend. He’s another Belgian with plenty of years ahead of him; he has some time to make things click
9. Gerben de Knegt (5) – de Knegt finished 10th in Lille, keeping him in the rankings this week. He’s the oldest guy in the rankings and the only Dutchmen. The good news is that there’s a bevy of younger talent joining the elite ranks over the next few years. But for now, de Knegt is the man in the Netherlands.
10. Dieter Vanthourenhout (n/a) – Dieter is another rider making his long awaited return to the rankings this week. Much like his cousin (Sven), Dieter has had an up and down season and is looking for some positive momentum as the racing winds down. At age 25, he’s still learning how to play with the big boys and should continue to improve every year.
Dropped this week: Francis Mourey (4), Martin Bina (7), Martin Zlamalik (8) and Christan Heule (9).
The GP de Eecloonaar in Eeklo, Belgium will serve as a fine warm-up for the fireworks in Vorselaar on Sunday. The final round of the Superprestige will prove to be the most important race of the series as Zdenek Stybar and Niels Albert are tied for the lead with 95 points. Sven Nys is a distant third with 86 points and his streak of 5-straight Superprestige titles looks certain to come to an end. However, all Stybar and Albert have to worry about is each other, leaving room for someone like Nys to pick-up the win on the day. In case you’re wondering, there is one wacky scenario that would allow Nys to win the overall: points go 15 deep (15,14,13, etc.), meaning Nys must finish 6th or better and Albert and Stybar must finish at least nine spots behind him. As far as those two go, Stybar has all the momentum, but Albert will have the home crowd. It promises to be a great race!
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Monday Musette – Weekend Wrap-up, Tour du Med, Radios, and Murcia

Posted on February 9, 2010 by

Today’s Musette comes a bit late in the day, so let’s jump right in:

Fotoreporter Sirotti

1. This weekend’s racing went pretty much as planned with Alessandro Petacchi taking the win in Italy, Robbie McEwan and Oscar Freire (today) taking wins in Mallorca, and Team Sky winning the TTT in Qatar’s first stage. The Etoile des Besseges ended with a bit of drama following Samuel Dumoulin’s relegation in the penultimate stage. When it was all said and done, the Cofidis rider took the overall title though, but only after a stomach virus ravaged the overnight leader’s hotel—leading to several riders not even taking the start Sunday.

2. Qatar and Mallorca continue this week, while the Tour du Mediterranéen begins Wednesday with 5 days of racing across southern France. For the most part, the race profile is relatively flat, but on the last day, the traditional ascent of the 1st-category Mont Faron ends the race with a bang (not to mention the rest of the categorized climbs that speckle the day’s route). If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on the Dutch with Vacansoleil’s Johnny Hoogerland getting the nod over Rabobank’s Robert Gesink. Gesink and his team have little to prove at this point in the season, but Vacansoleil needs every win it can get to earn one of the coveted Wild Card invitations to the 2010 Tour de France. Hoogerland’s performance in Marseille two weekends ago is enough to convince me that he’s the man to beat at the Med.

Others to watch? Alejandro Valverde could easily take the win, while his teammate Christophe Moreau and  AG2R’s Cyril Dessel are France’s best hopes for a native winner. Garmin’s bringing Tom Danielson; we might soon know if the first half of his 2009 Vuelta was a fluke. And let’s not forget the guy we all love to hate, Alexander Vinokourov.

Regardless, my money’s with Hoogerland–you heard it here first.

3. And speaking of hearing, riders racing in the USA won’t be hearing directors in their ears anymore as it was announced last week that USA Cycling is banning race radios in all but its most prestigious events. While I won’t take sides (not yet, at least), I will take a moment to highlight what I consider to be an entertaining exchange on the subject between VeloNews’ John Wilcockson and Johan Bruyneel—on Twitter.  Here it is:

“Glad to see USA Cycling has endorsed UCI ban on radios/earpieces for all domestic races. Only ToC, ToM, Philly are exempt. Back to basics!”

“@johnwilcockson – BAD idea, John! Believe me…”

“@johanbruyneel So let’s have a real debate on the issue, Johan. We can publish it in the next VN. What do you say?”

“@johnwilcockson – no need 4 a debate on this John. Do people want 2 discuss use of navigation system & cell phones nowadays? Don’t think so!”

After you get over the fact that this exchange took place on Twitter, there are some interesting things to note. First of all, Johan Bruyneel really likes race radios—enough to use capital letters. Second, one can’t help but feel the assault on radio usage must really be gaining steam—not because of the USAC ban, but because someone like Bruyneel is taking it SO seriously. After all, the ban won’t affect Bruyneel’s riders in any of the races Radio Shack plans enter, so why does he care so much? Might he be feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg? Could he be afraid that other promoters—and maybe even the UCI—will be monitoring the situation closely in order to determine its viability in their own events?

It’s too bad we can’t see a Tour of California run in complete radio silence; it would be nice to see what kind of effect the radios (or lack thereof) would have in such a prominent event.

4.While we’re on the subject of bans, The Tour of Murcia has banned all Italian teams in an apparent response to Italy’s ban on Alejandro Valverde. Talk about cutting-off your nose to spite your face!

5. In a related news item, Alejandro Valverde’s Caisse d’Epargne team is one of several Spanish teams not riding the Tour of Murcia due to safety and organizational concerns.

6. And last but not least:

Grazie, Franco.  We’ll miss you.

Fotoreporter Sirotti
That’s it for today!  Share your comments below: race picks, radios, and memories of Franco Ballerini.
Thanks for reading! 
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Weekend Preview – Etruschi, Besseges, Mallorca, and Qatar

Posted on February 6, 2010 by
The 2010 road season is beginning to pick-up, which means it’s time once again for Pavé’s Weekend Preview Series. In most places, it’s still winter, so it’s no surprise that February races take place in Europe’s warmest regions. Let’s take a tour!
Fotoreporter Sirotti

We’ll start in Southern Italy, where the season kicked-off last weekend with the 4-day Giro di Reggio-Calabria and continues Saturday with the GP Etruschi. The race usually ends in a sprint, and several men take the start with aspirations for a bunch win. The favorite has to be Alessandro Petacchi, the winner of 2 stages at Calabria. Along with Petacchi, Lampre signed Danilo Hondo this past off-season, and so far the lead-out combination seems to be working. Damiano Cunego also takes the line for the boys in pink, although it would be quite a surprise to see him take a win this early in the year—though stranger things have happened. Other possible winners? ISD’s Oscar Gatto had some good results in Calabria, as did Colnago’s Mattia Gavazzi. Acqua & Sapone brings Luca Paolini, a man who knows how to win a race from a break and in a sprint. Androni Giocattoli will start Alberto Loddo and Rubens Bertogliati, two men with the speed to take the win. Just for fun, let’s include two men with speedy surnames: De Rosa’s Roberto Ferrari and Ceramica Flaminia’s Alessandro Maserati. And finally, it’s worth mentioning that Carmiooro’s Emanuele Sella and Miche’s Michael Rasmussen, two men starting the long road back to respectability, are racing as well.

Fotoreporter Sirotti
From Italy to we head to the South of France, and the final two stages of the Etoile des Besseges, a 5-day race that started Wednesday. So far it’s been a sprint-fest, with Vacansoleil’s Borut Borzic taking two wins and the leader’s jersey. With relatively short stages and flat profiles, it’s anyone’s guess as to each day’s winner this weekend. But I wouldn’t bet against Vacansoleil taking another win or two. They’re hoping for an invitation to the Tour; a few more winning performances on French soil might just do the trick!
Fotoreporter Sirotti

Now onto Spain and the traditional Spanish openers on the island of Mallorca. Mallorca’s an attractive option to many riders; it offers five days of one-day racing, meaning riders can start and stop as they please. Teams often bring large contingents, mixing and matching their start lists according to the terrain and their riders’ fitness levels. This year’s team line-ups closely resemble many of the rosters from January’s Tour Down Under; Mallorca’s a smart way for the riders to re-acclimate without over-committing. For example, Caisse d’Epargne brings Alejandro Valverde and Luis Leon Sanchez, fresh from their successful Aussie endeavors. Look for Valverde to make a quick exit though, as he’s slated (right now) to start the Tour du Med on Tuesday. TDU winner Andre Greipel takes the line too, obviously hoping to continue his January success on another continent. He’s joined by Tony Martin, Michael Albasini, and the usual complement of HTC riders capable of taking wins—Monfort, Pinotti, and Siutsou to name a few.

Katusha brings an interesting roster to the race, highlighted by Kim Kirchen, Alexander Kolobnev, and Joaquin Rodriguez. Omega Pharma is bringing Mario Aerts (remember him?), Jan Bakelants, and Jurgen Van Den Broeck, although it’s unlikely the latter will show us anything until at least May. Quick Step split its team between Mallorca and Qatar this week. Stijn Devolder and Sylvain Chavanel scored the trip to Spain, likely due to the slightly more varied terrain it offers. Rabobank brings Oscar Freire and Lars Boom, look for Oscar to start his penultimate season with at least one win here. Rabo’s compatriots from Skil-Shimano will be hoping Kenny Van Hummel can begin their season with a win or two. Milram’s Linus Gerdemann is on the list, but Robert Forster’s probably a safer bet for a win for the German team. Saxo Bank brings the Schleck brothers for some sunny base mileage, as well as Jens Voigt. And finally, I can’t help but mention my early pick for Best Name in the Sport, Footon Servetto’s Johnny Walker!

Italy, Spain, France—that’s it, right? Nope. We’re forgetting what’s quickly becoming the early season’s hottest warm-up race: the Tour of Qatar. The race begins on Sunday with a short TTT, where Team Sky will certainly hope to out-Garmin everyone—including Garmin. After that, 5 days of field sprints are in store—no doubt a welcome sight for Tom Boonen, a man seeking a bit of redemption following a less-than-stellar fall campaign. He won’t have Mark Cavendish to contend with, but that doesn’t mean Tommeke’s got an easy ride to victory. Several more than capable sprinters fill the start list: Cervelo’s Haussler; HTC’s Eisel; Saxo Bank’s Breschel, Cooke, and Haedo; Omega Pharma’s Van Avermaet; Garmin’s Farrar; Katusha’s Napolitano; BMC’s Burghardt; Saur’s Casper, Milram’s Ciolek, Liquigas’ Bennati and Chichi; and Vacansoleil’s Roman Feillu.
Seriously speaking, aside from the absence of Petacchi, Borzic, Cavendish, Hushovd, and Freire, this has to be one of the finest groups of sprinters ever assembled! But it doesn’t stop there as several other stars are fleeing Europe’s cold winter for the warmth of the Persian Gulf (never thought I’d type that!). The list read’s like a list of favorites for the Tour of Flanders: in addition to Boonen and Haussler we have Cancellara, Gilbert, Boassen Hagen, Flecha, Maaskant, Pozzato, Ballan, Kuschynski, and Quinziato. Throw-in Bradley Wiggins and Taylor Phinney, and you’ve got all the makings of something special.
Well, you would if it weren’t being held in a desert.
The true racing here will likely occur only within the final 10km each day; but with such a star-studded field, it should quite a spectacle. The only thing the riders need to worry about is the threat of crashes—with so many riders and so few hills to create some separation, there’s always the risk for big pile-ups. Here’s hoping everyone makes it through unscathed.
So there you have it—our first Weekend Preview of 2010. As you can see, there are a lot of favorites to choose from—share your picks and predictions below. And if you have a minute and like what you read, recommend us to a friend or follow us on Twitter. We’ve got a big season planned!
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Wednesday Cross Report and Power Ranking

Posted on February 3, 2010 by
Only a few weeks left for Erik Mitchell’s Weekly Cross Report and Power Rankings.  It was a fantastic weekend of racing.  For more insight and analysis, head to Erik’s site, The Run-up.  As always, feel free to share your comments and insights below.
In what was billed as one of the best cyclocross races in years, the 2010 World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic delivered the fairy tale story every rider (and fan) dreams about. Wearing his nation’s colors, Zdenek Stybar destroyed one of the best fields ever assembled, and collected the Rainbow Jersey in front of a hometown crowd. Stybar spent more than half the race by himself and wound-up winning by 21 seconds. Behind, the usual heads of state were noticeably absent, as a bevy of somewhat unsung riders made their bids for podium spots. Sven Nys, the other early favorite, found himself out of contention for the win, and could only watch as fellow countryman Klaas Vantornout picked-up the Silver Medal. Nys held-on for Bronze, while defending champion Niels Albert dropped-out with a few laps to go.

Vantornout wasn’t the only surprise of the day. Behind the two Belgians, three more Czechs made their way into the top-10: Martin Bina (4th), Martin Zlamalik (6th), and Radomir Simunek (8th). I guess there’s something about racing on your home soil that leads to extraordinary performances. Mixed among the surging Czechs were a few other surprise names; Francis Mourey finished 5th and Christian Heule drifted back into 7th. Tim Johnson was the top American, using a late surge to wind-up 14th. Needless to say, when a World Championship is on the line, we get a chance to see wonderful performances from riders we rarely talk about.

All in all, it was one of the best races of the year, and one that will be remembered for a long time. In terms of the rankings, obviously Stybar takes the top spot this week, but where does everyone else fall? Time to find out:

1. Zdenk Stybar (1) – In what still must seem like a dream, Stybar proved that he’s the best in the World right now by winning the rainbow stripes in his home nation. Stybar will be going for it all over the next few weeks. He already has the World Cup Overall Title and the World Championship and is well within striking distance of the Superprestige and GvA Trophy series. Only time will tell if the Czech can win the Quadruple Crown.
2. Klaas Vantornout (3) – Vantornout continued his impressive run of top-5 finishes with a silver medal in Tabor. This tied his best result of the year (at the Roubaix World Cup) and has firmly planted him as one of the best Belgian cross riders. He hasn’t won a race this year, but has only finished outside the top-10 once. Even if he doesn’t pick up a win this February, he’ll still be a major threat next year.
3. Sven Nys (4) – In typical Nys fashion, the Belgian superstar failed to win the biggest race in the World. He has promised to race cross until 2013, leaving him a few more opportunities to take another World Championship. Nys appeared to have good form, but his superb technical skills were nowhere to be found. He has two more races left in the GvA Trophy to defend his lead and wrap-up the overall. That’s really all that matters for him at this point.
4. Francis Mourey (n/a) – Mourey may never win a race outside of France, but he’s still one of the best cross racers in Europe. His 5th place was no surprise (he’s had six of them this year), but the fact that he was on a verge of a podium spot definitely turned a few heads. Perhaps he’ll surprise us with a win later this month, or maybe he’ll continue his impressive streak of 5th places.
5. Gerben de Knegt (8) – de Knegt struggled a bit in Tabor, but finished just inside the top-10. He remains the best Dutchmen in the world right now and has resurrected his career at age 35. With the retirement of Erwin Vervecken, de Knegt becomes the elder statesmen of cross next year, but I’m sure his results won’t show it.
6. Bart Wellens (n/a) – The four-time World Champ struggled to make the Belgian team this year, but with a 10th place in Tabor, he proved he belonged there all along. Due to the bizarre illness he suffered last fall, it’s been a tough season for the Belgian. I think he’s really looking forward to next year; we’re hoping he hopes to get back to the greatness he once showed.
7. Martin Bina (n/a) – Bina was the first of many Czech riders to surprise everyone in Tabor. He lost a shot at the podium thanks to a devastating sprint from Nys. Still, his 4th place was perhaps the biggest surprise of the day. This will most likely be Bina’s best result of the year, but leaves hope that he may be able to produce similar results more consistently next year.
8. Martin Zlamalik (n/a) – Zlamailk’s 6th place was yet another Czech surprise. In fact, the Czech Republic finished with more riders inside the top-10 (4) than any other nation this year. Much like Bina, Zlamalik hasn’t had much success in the bigger races this year, but while it might have been a result of home field advantage, the future looks bright for the Czech Republic right now. It’s shaping-up to be a Czech vs. Belgian battle for years to come.
9. Christan Heule (n/a) – Heule raced in America in September before heading over to Europe where he produced some good results. Over the past few months his success has fizzled though, making his 7th place all the more remarkable. At age 35, Heule’s career is almost over and while it’s not clear when he’ll bid the cross world adieu, a top-10 at Worlds isn’t a bad way to go.
10. Niels Albert (2) – Albert really didn’t prove much coming-off his victory in the final round of the World Cup a week ago. He failed to finish on Sunday in Tabor and was never better then 12th during the race. But while he lost the World Title and the World Cup this year, he still has a shot at the Superprestige and GvA Trophy. It’s going to be a tough end to the season for the young Belgian if he fails to win at least one of those titles.

Dropped this week: Erwin Vervecken (5), Kevin Pauwels (6), Tom Meeusen (7), Bart Aernouts (9), Jonathan Page (10).

While the cycling world begins to turn its head towards road races in Southern Europe and Qatar this week, the cross boys will be battling it out in Belgium. With only a few weeks left in the season, it’s time to wrap-up the Superprestige and GvA Trophy. There’s a mid-week race in Maldegem, but the real fireworks begin on Saturday in Lille, with another round of the GvA. Sven Nys will be going for broke as he tries to defend his lead over a rocky Niels Albert and the newly-crowned World Champion, Zdenek Stybar. On Sunday, the trio moves to Zonhoven for the penultimate round of the Superprestige series. Nys needs a miracle to win this overall, but another victory on home soil is always nice for the Belgian Champion. Meanwhile, Stybar and Albert will battle it out for the lead heading into the final round next weekend in Vorselaar. Needless to say, there’s no rest for the weary.

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