Our Pick: Lars Boom
Winner: Lars Boom
Notes: Lars Boom dominated his final race of the season, beating Thijs van Amerongen by 22 seconds. Niels Wubben rounded out the podium rolling across the line 44 seconds after Boom. The oldest man in cross, Gerben de Knegt continued to struggle, finishing sixth. With Boom out, van Amerongen, de Knegt and Thijs Al (5th place) should have all secured their spots for worlds. The odds are Wubben and Twan van den Brand (4th) will also make the squad.

Czech Republic

Our Pick: Zdenek Stybar
Winner: Zdenek Stybar
Notes: Radomir Simunek delivered as best as he could on his promise to fight as hard as he could to beat Styby. He finished second, 1:36 back. Karel Hnik rolled across the line in third for his best result of the season. The Toi Toi Cup offered double points in Unicov and came right down to the final few laps, where Vladimir Kyzivat got away from Petr Dlask. As a result, Kyzivat won the Toi Toi Cup by 2 points. David Kasek finished third overall, while season-long leader Christoph Pfingsten fell to fourth since he couldn’t participate in Unicov.

France

Our Pick: Francis Mourey
Winner: Aurelien Duval
Notes: Francis Mourey finished third, behind Steve Chainel, losing the title he’s held since 2006. The race saw a lead group as large as 20 widdled itself down to just five men in the final half lap. The final corner was very close to the finish line (150m in my opinion) and Duval came through it first and held on for the win. It also provided us with a chance to figure out why he had scantly clad women on his jersey. Turns out the UV Aube team is sponsored by Charlott’s lingerie.

Denmark

Our Pick: Kenneth Hansen
The Winner: Kenneth Hansen
Notes: Kenneth Hansen won in front of a hometown crowd to retain the Danish national title on Sunday. Hansen beat Jonas Pederson and Tommy Nielsen. The most interesting aspect of this race was the age of the riders. The 21 person field had only three riders between the ages of 23 and 35. The rest of the field was evenly split between those 23 and younger and 35 and older. With that said, three of the top five were under the age of 22, proving that the youth are beginning to take over.

Belgium

Our Pick: Sven Nys
Winner: Sven Nys
Notes: Sven Nys dominated Sunday’s race on a muddy course in Belgium. After a terrbile start that saw him sitting in last place, he went to the front, bridged to runner-up Niels Albert and simply rode away two laps into the race. Rob Peeters finished third, a finish that most likely will reserve him a spot on the worlds team. Kevin Pauwels finished tenth, over four minutes behind Nys.

The big story was Bart Wellens who was rushed to the hospital Saturday night. Wellens exact condition isn’t clear, but his body began to shut down as a result of a very high fever. He is apparently going to be okay, but the lack of details about what exactly happened still leave us wondering how he is. He’s had some health issues in the past – notably a bout of mononucleosis in 2009 that significantly interrupted his cyclocross performance – so we hope this issue isn’t too serious.

Finally, the Sven Nys conspiracy has become full blown after a decision to remove the hardest part of the course was made late Saturday. While the mud still made for a tough course, Nys was upset with the promoters who made a last minute decision to remove an uphill section that favored him. While the odds are that this is not the case, promoters have removed barriers and other obstacles in the past to curve the Belgians dominance. As he said, hopefully the don’t remove the sand sections from Worlds.

United States

Our Pick: Jeremy Powers
Winner: Jeremy Powers
Notes: For the first time in years, all the key players played a role in the national championships, making it a spectacular race. Conditions were about as good as they could possibly be in Madison, Wisconsin – considering that many racers had been anticipating heavy snow and single-digit temps for Nationals, temperatures in the 30s were a welcome respite, especially after a week of racers watching the ground freeze, thaw, mud over, and freeze again.

Austria

Our Pick: Peter Presslauer
Winner: Daniel Geismayr
Notes: Our preview focused on Peter Presslauer, who has been the best Austrain by far this season. We also mentioned Matthias Brandle, Karl Gollinger and 41-year-old Thomas Mair as potential challengers. Bottom line: we weren’t even close. Karl Gollinger finished third, behind Alexander Gehbauer and the new national champion Daniel Geismayr. Everyone else we mentioned failed to finish. However, here’s the most impressive stat: Geismayr won by four minuets. Impressive.

Luxembourg

Our Pick: Gutsy Bausch
Winner: Gutsy Bausch
Notes: 32-year-old Gutsy Bausch picked up the victory in Luxembourg a head of Christian Helmig and 46-year-old Pascal Triebel. Triebel becomes the oldest man to finish on a national championship podium this year and the second oldest man to pick up UCI points. Interestingly, all of the podium was over 30 years old. Also, there’s some mild confusion as the UCI still has Helmig as a German citizen.

Great Britain

Our Pick: Paul Oldham
Winner: Ian Field
Notes: Field was the unkown on Sunday and finally picked up a well deserved national title in Ipswitch. Field has had a solid season, but historically underpreformed in the British championships. The battle between Paul Oldham and Jody Crawforth came down to a battle for third after Liam Killeen came out of nowhere finishing a meager three seconds behind Field. Crawforth got the best of Oldham for third place.

Spain

Our Pick: Javier Ibanez
Winner: Isaac Fernandez
Notes: Isaac Fernandez was one of two riders we mentioned who shouldn’t be counted out. Fernandez won a spectacular four-man sprint a head of Egoitz Rekalde, Sergio Gutierrez and Aketza Iza. The rest of the top-ten was well over a minute behind the lead group. Javier Ibanez had a bad day, finishing ninth.

Italy

Our Pick: Marco Fontana
Winner: Marco Fontana
Notes: An incredibly muddy course met the riders in Vadenza where Marco Fontana once again proved he’s the best, beating Marco Bianco and Cristian Cominelli by 40 seconds. Cominelli continues to impress and has surely secured as spot on the worlds team. The other favorites, Elia Silvestri, Fabio Ursi, Luca Damiani and Enrico Franzoi finished well over a minute behind Fontana.

Switzerland

Our Pick: Chrisitan Heule
Winner: Julien Taramarcaz
Notes: I apologize for saying in our preview that Julien Taramarcaz would not be in attendance. Apparently the start list I found was incomplete. Anyway, Taramarcaz was able to get away from a strong, five-man group that had mixed it up throughout the muddy race in Switzerland. Simon Zahner, our wildcard rider finished second a head of Christian Heule. Heule will wind down his career over the next few weeks and hopes to end it with a top-ten at worlds.

Germany

Our Pick: Philipp Walsleben
Winner: Christoph Pfingsten
Notes: 12 riders crossed the finish line in Kleinmachnow, lead by new champion Christoph Pfingsten. While we gave the edge to Walsleben, Pfingsten has ahad a great season and deserved to win the title. He beat Walsleben by 41 seconds. Showing how dominate these two riders are in the their country, Marcel Meisen finished third, 2:32 behind Pfingsten. However, Meisen is only 23-years-old and provides a promising future for Germany.

Sven Nys is once again the heavy favorite for Sunday’s race on a challenging course in Hooglede-Gits. Nys has been at the front of  all but a handful of races this season and has dominated the past few weeks. Nys has taken the title home seven times in the past 11 years, but failed to finish last year in Antwerp. Should Nys take home an eighth title, he’ll be two away from tying the record set by Roland Liboton, who won ten straight in the 1980s. Nys ended last weekend with a bang and looks to continue that success on Sunday.

Defending champion Niels Albert will surely have something to say on Sunday. After being hit by a car and breaking his wrist, Albert was forced to take some time off from a solid start to the season. Since his return, he’s been in the mix at every race and often found himself on the podium. Albert has somewhat played second fiddle to the Kevin Pauwels/Sven Nys battle and would love to prove that he’s the man to beat. Albert has had a lot of success recently by simply riding away from everyone else. Should Albert find himself off the front, he may never come back.

Kevin Pauwels’ season started off unbelievably as he seemingly won everything in sight. As a result, he finds himself leading the UCI Points, World Cup and GVA Trophy. He also sits just one point behind Nys in the Superprestige series. Pauwels has shown that’s he’s human lately and has struggled to find the form that saw him rattle off one victory after another earlier on. Minus his win in Zolder a few weeks back, it’s been over a month since Pauwels has seen the top step of the podium. If Pauwels can pull off the win on Sunday, he’ll prove that the first half of his season wasn’t a fluke – if he’s to dominate ‘cross he’ll need to show resilience all season long. 

Behind Nys, Albert and Pauwels is a bevy of top notch Belgian talent itching to prove that they belong in the conversation. Bart Wellens has shown remarkable form lately and could prove to be the spoiler in Hooglede-Gits. Wellens was the runner up last year and would love to capture his third title. Klass Vantornout has been knocking on the door for quite some time. Ever the consummate teammate, it wouldn’t be surprising if he tries to help out Pauwels. On the other hand, if he has a shot for victory, he’ll definitely go for it.

A few other riders could find themselves in the mix on Sunday. Tom Meeusen has had a solid season, but has been battling the flu and probably won’t be on top form. Rob Peeters has shown some signs of good form lately and could mix it up with the big boys. Joeri Adams, the U23 champion last year, has had a quite season, but could put in a solid performance in an effort to make the worlds squad. Finally, Bart Aernouts always seems to strike when nobody is thinking about him. If anyone pulls off the upset, it could be him.

Netherlands (2,403 pts.)

Last year, Gerben de Knegt was on the best form in years and looked to be a lock for a national title. Unfortunately a minor misstep opened the door for Lars Boom to capture another title. Both men will be on the start line this weekend in Huikbergen. Despite his lack of success, Boom has to be considered a threat as does de Knegt, who has recently shown signs of the form he had last year. Eddy van Ijzendoorn and Thijs van Amerongen battled it out for third last year and could be in the exact same position this weekend. Van Amerongen has put together a string of solid top-twenty results at the World Cup and Superprestige races this season and could be in the hunt for victory if de Knegt and Boom falter.

Czech Republic (2,929 pts.)

The race this weekend in Unicov, will provide fans with something almost never seen as two World Champions toe the start line. MTB World Champion Jaroslav Kulhavy, who has raced a few cross races this season, will line up next to current Cross World Champion Zdenk Stybar. Stybar is the odds on favorite in Unicov as he attempts to capture his fifth-straight national title. Stybar has been a bit wishy-washy about his future in cross, but one thing is for sure, he’s racing this weekend to win.

Standing in Stybar’s way will be Peter Dlask, a five time national champion himself, and Radomir Simunek. Simunek stated that he’s in top form and looking for that elusive top-step of the podium. While the battle should come down to Simunek and Stybar, Dlask has a had a solid season racing primarily in the Czech Republic and could surprise in Unicov.

As if the drama of a national title wasn’t enough, this race will also decide the winner of the Toi Toi Cup. Germany’s Christoph Pfingsten leads the series, but obviously will not be racing in Unicov, meaning that the battle will come down to Dlask, David Kasek and Vladimir Kyzivat. Kasek trail Dlask by seven points, while Kyzivat is only eight points back. Whichever one of these men crosses the line first will most likely win the Toi Toi Cup.

France (2,972 pts.)

Up until last weekend, there was no question of who was going to win this weekend in Quelneuc. Defending champion Francis Mourey has been unstoppable on French soil and is often the top Frechmen in international races. However, Jon Gadret was able to do the unthinkable and beat Mourey at the GP Hotel Threeland in Luxembourg. While it may have been a one time thing, Gadret’s victory has set the stage for a very exciting race this weekend.

The battle for the podium should be a five-man affair. In addition to Mourey and Gadret, Matthieu Boulo, Steve Chainel and Nicolas Bazin. Boulo won the U23 national title last year and has finished on the podium in several elite races this year. Chainel, who is perhaps the best example of a rider who can succeed in both cross and road, is always in the hunt and could pull off an upset in Quelneuc. Finally, there’s Bazin, who started his season in the US and has continued with a solid European campaign.

Spain (966 pts.)

Out of all the national championships, the Spanish one could be the least predictable. One of the problems is that their national series has been dominated by foreigners, who have clearly shaped the races differently then if it were a strictly Spanish race. Javier Ibanez is the defending champion and has had a solid season thus far. However, he has failed to win a race and his international results are a bit disappointing.

Egoitz Rekalde could be Ibanez’s biggest competition. Rekalde has won three races this season and finished in the top-20 at two World Cups. However, his last victory was over a month ago and at the Heusden-Zolder World Cup, he finished 47th. Last year’s runner up, Jose Ramos is another rider have a successful season, including a pair of victories in the past few weeks. However, neither Ibanez or Rekalde were in attendance at his most recent win. Two riders who can’t be counted out are Oscar Crespo and Isaac Fernandez. Then again, a wildcard could have great legs and rule the day in Burgos.

Italy (1,385 pts.)

After a victory last weekend in Rome, defending champion Marco Fontana is the heavy favorite going into this weekends race in Vadenza. However, his margin of victory was less then 10-seconds, leaving to door open to a number of competitors. Elia Silvestri, Fabio Ursi and Luca Damiani were all in the mix last weekend and have all graced the podium this season. If it comes down to a sprint, Damiani will have the advantage as he seems to have the best kick right now. Cristian Cominelli surprised everyone, except himself, last weekend in Rome with a strong second place finish. He’ll be looking for the upset this weekend. Finally, you cannot count out former champion Enrico Franzoi, who would love to wear his nations colors again.

Switzerland (1,614 pts.)

All eyes will be on six-time, and defending champion, Chrisitan Heule. Heule raced most of his final season in the US, before returning to Europe in December. His results have continued to improve and on Monday he won in Bussnang against an almost identical field to the one he’ll be facing this weekend in Beromunster.

Last year’s runner up Pirmin Lang has had minimal success this year and most likely will not be in contention this weekend. Last year’s third place finisher, Julien Taramarcaz will not be in attendance, leaving the door wide open for the likes of Lukas Fuckiger and Marcel Wildhaber. Both riders had strong starts to the season and have fizzled a bit. However, they could easily turn it on if they have the legs. Finally, there’s Simon Zahner, who has flown way under the radar this season. He finished four-seconds behind Heule on Monday and could be Heule’s biggest competition.

Germany (1,652 pts.)

Defending champion, Philipp Walsleben had a wildly successful season last year and was able to wear his nations colors at the World Championships in Germany. This year, after high expectations, he seemed to be off and didn’t show the great form he had last year. However, as the season has gone on, he has started to come around and had a few top-ten results during Holy Week. As a result he’s once again the favorite to win in Kleinmachnow.

Standing in Walsleben’s way will be 25-year-old Christoph Pfingsten, who has had a solid season thus far. He’s placed inside the top-20 at the most recent World Cups and has won four UCI C2 races, including three rounds of the Toi Toi Cup. 23-year-old Marcel Meisen should also be in the mix in Kleinmachnow. Meisen has stepped up to the elite ranks this year and has really shined. While he hasn’t had any breakout results, he’s ridden very consistently and could mix it up with the big boys.