This small, non-televised UCI C2 race featured perhaps the most surprising finish of 2011 as Jan Denuwelaere out-sprinted World Champion Zdenk Stybar on Thursday in Bredene, Belgium. Dieter Vanthourenhout rolled across the line in third place, 12 seconds back. Niels Albert, who has been sick all week finished a disappointing fourth. While Stybar has been beaten regularly in sprints this season, it has usually been by riders with names like Nys and Pauwels.

So, who exactly is Jan Denuwelaere? The 24-year-old Belgian sits just outside the top 100 in UCI points and really hasn’t had much success this season. His best result before Thursday was a second place finish at the first round of the Toit Toi Cup. Interestingly enough, he lost that race to Stybar. Denuwelaere primarily races the GVA Trofee races and some smaller Belgian races. He finished tenth last year at the Belgian national championships and could better that result this upcoming weekend.

Fidea Cyclocross Lueven (C1)

The showdown expected in Lueven on Thursday was for not as as several riders pulled out at the last minute due to illness. This left the door wide open for Sven Nys to dominate the new race on a very tough course in Lueven. Nys quickly made it into the lead group and took his time riding away from everyone, including Rob Peeters, who finished second, 55 seconds down. French National Champion Francis Mourey slowly made his way through a couple of chase groups and wound up third, about 20 seconds behind Peeters. Two riders who generated great interest for opposite reasons were Lars Boom, who finished a distant 15th and American Jonathan Page, who finished 7th.

As previously mentioned, the Nys show came courtesy of several last minute withdrawals. Kevin Pauwels, Niels Albert, Tom Meeusen and Klaas Vantornout have all had to cancel their appearances. Pauwels has some sort of intestinal bug Thursday night and didn’t want to take any risks by racing on Friday. Albert, who lives 20km from the course also opted not to start due to a week-long cold. Meeusen, who rides for the race’s title sponsor has came down with the flu and Vantornout also opted out because of a bad cold.

Memorial Romano Scotti (C2)

As predicted, Marco Fontana picked up the victory in Rome on Friday. As part of a two-day festival, the Memorial Romano Scotti featured Italy’s top cross racers as they gear up for nationals. Fontana won last years title on this same course. The surprise came from Cristian Cominelli, who finished second, seven seconds behind Fontana. Luca Damiani finished third in a sprint against Elia Silvestri and Fabio Ursi. The top-five was separated by less then ten seconds and all five are considered favorites for next weekend’s national championship.

GVA Trophy Round 6 – GP Sven Nys (C1)

Sven Nys took a dominating victory on New Years Day in his hometown of Baal. It marks Nys’ eleventh win in his namesake event and his sixth straight. Nys simply rode away from the competition on a muddy course spending the last five of seven laps out front by himself. Kevin Pauwels was one of several riders who battled it out in a chase group and managed to get rid of the rest finishing second a head of Bart Wellens. Zdenk Stybar finished fourth, which means Pauwels extended his lead in the overall. Meanwhile, American Jonathan Page finished 10th, showing some great form.

As always, the first race of 2012, provided a chance to see riders in their 2012 teams and kits. Nobody was more sought after then World Champion Zdenk Stybar, who was seen riding a pink Specialized, a pink helmet and a new team-kit from Omega Pharma-Quickstep.

The battle for the GVA Trophy seems to finally be over after Pauwels managed to gain a few more points over Stybar. Stybar now sits 16 points behind Pauwels, with Nys a distant third, 28 points behind. As is tradition, the GVA Troffe will take a break until February and will wind down the season with the final two rounds taking place during the last two weeks of racing.

GP Hotel Threeland (C2)

With just one week before defending his national title, Francis Mourey suffered something rarely seen this season, a loss to a fellow Frenchman. The French dominated the races in Petange, Luxembourg, with John Gadret picking up his fourth victory in Petange, a head of Francis Mourey and Nicolas Bazin. Mourey rolled across the line 34 second after Gadret, while Bazin was over two-minutes behind the winner. As predicted, Gusty Bausch was the top rider from Luxembourg, finishing 15th, nearly six minutes down.

Cyclocross Bussnang (C2)

Christian Heule delivered a solid victory in Bussnang, Switzerland on Monday. The Swiss champion gained a lot of confidence as he tries to defend his title next weekend. The predominately Swiss field saw some familiar faces in the lead group, that eventually became a two man race between Heule and Simon Zahner, who finished second, four seconds down. Marcel Wildhaber finished third a head of Lukas Fluckiger, who had finished second the past three years and was considered a favorite for victory.

The inaugural New Year’s Resolution race is the final UCI race in the United States before the National Championships next weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. The two-day UCI C2 race will be held at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, Ill. After a few weeks off following a pair of victories in Bend, Oregon, Jeremy Powers will be in action as he finalizes preparations for what he hopes is his first elite National Championship. After a leg injury knocked him out of the USGP finale, and overall lead, Ryan Trebon will return to action where he hopes to prove he’s still the man to beat in the US.

Standing in their way is a strong crew of Canadian, New England and Mid-West riders, who are all hoping to be on form as they prepare for nationals. Dylan McNicholas has shown his strengths as the season has progressed and should be in the mix this weekend. Travis Livermon got the best of McNicholas and the rest of the field in Tennessee a few weeks back and could podium in Bloomingdale. Powers’ teammate, Chris Jones had a pair of top-ten finishes in Bend and could stay close to the leaders if he has the legs. Finally, Justin Lindine will be in action before he heads to nationals where he will start on the front row. The last half of Lindine’s season hasn’t been as spectacular as the first part, where he rattled of one UCI victory after another.

The smaller, but exciting Fidea series continues in Friday in Leuven. Previous editions of this race have occured in Turven, including last year, where Niels Albert got the better of Sven Nys. The course in Leuven is said to be very technical and challenging, especially in the first half. After that it eases off a bit, but is still a hard course. All in all, the new venue in the college town of Leuven should provide some great action.

As we have seen over the past few weeks, the battle for victory usually comes down to three Belgians and a Czech. Niels Albert seems unstoppable if he can get a gap on the competition, while fellow Belgians Sven Nys and Kevin Pauwels continue to dominate the bigger races. World Champion Zdenk Stybar is not schedule to start in Leuven, which should make it an all Belgian affair.

Looking to provide the upset are the usual cast of characters including Klass Vantornout, Bart Aernouts and a surprisingly strong Bart Wellens. Tom Meeusen continues to recover from an illness, but still could provide some fireworks. After all, Albert was sick this week and still pulled off an impressive victory. The always dangerous Lars Boom is set to toe the start line in Leuven.

Two names that may sound familiar are mountain bike stars Yaroslav Kulhavy and Florian Vogel. Kulhavy is the reigning World Champion and Vogel has accounted for 21 medals at the world championships and European championships Both riders will be in the start grid on Friday.

Memorial Romano Scotti (C2)

The second annual Memorial Romano Scotti takes place in Rome, Italy on Friday. The race is part of a two-day extravaganza that features three race circuits, over two hours of live coverage on RAI and 700+ athletes. The event concludes with the UCI C2 race on Friday. Despite being up against the Fidea race, a start studded, primarily Italian, field should provide some great action. Italian National Champion Marco Aurelio Fontana won his jersey on this course last year and shold prove to be the favorite in Rome. Looking to topple him will be fellow Italians Franzoi and Elia Silvestri.

GVA Trophy Round 6 – GP Sven Nys (C1)

The GVA Trophy continues this weekend with the GP Sven Nys in Baal on Sunday. Organized, in part, by the Sven Nys and his fan club, the race in his hometown continues for its 13th year. Only two riders not named Sven Nys have won this race: Mario de Clercq in 2002 and Lars Boom in 2006. Nys would love to take an eleventh victory on Sunday, making it six-straight.

Standing in Nys’ way will be Zdenk Stybar and Kevin Pauwels. After winning the first three rounds of the GVA Trophy, Pauwels has suffered from bad luck and as a result, he only leads Stybar by 12 points. Because the point differential is minute, Stybar will need to finish in the top three and about four spots a head of Pauwels to really close that gap. Regardless, the duo will surely be marking each other in Baal. This could leave the door open for someone to get away and in this case, that will most likely be Nys.

GP Hotel Threeland (C2)

The GP Hotel Threeland enters its sixth edition on Sunday in Pentange, Luxembourg. The race is up against the GP Sven Nys, but will still draw a strong field, primarily from France and the Czech Republic. Last year’s winner Francis Mourey will be the heavy favorite once again, but should face stiff competition from last year’s runner up and three-time winner John Gadret. Nicolas Bazin finished third in Pentange last year and would love to make it a sweep for the French once again.

Looking to stop the French will be Czech starts Petr Dlask and Vladimir Kyzivat, who have been batteling all season in the Toi Toi Cup. Luxembourg’s best hope is Gusty Bausch, who will be aiming for a top-ten finish. Noticeably absent is American Jonathan Page, who will be racing in Baal. Page has finished on the podium twice in Pentange.

Cyclocross Bussnang (C2)

With the National Championships less then a week away, and a heavy week of racing in the books, the odds are that most riders will opt out of traveling to Switzerland for this race on Monday. The fourth edition of the race in Bussnang should see a predominately Swiss field, as has been the case in the three previous editions of the race.

Last year, Frenchmen Francis Mourey spoiled the party and may be in Bussnang again. Swiss star Lukas Fluckiger had finished second all three times in Bussnang and would love to buck that trend with a win on Monday. Also in the hunt for victory should be Marcel Wildhaber, who has finished third here the past two years.

Niels Albert made it three in a row Friday night in Diegem, with a solo victory ahead of Kevin Pauwels and Sven Nys. Albert returned to action last weekend after suffering a broken wrist and made it clear he’s ready to throw-down against the world’s best. The most interesting ride of the night came from Nys, who came across the line 36 seconds behind Albert. Nys, was seen riding mid-pack during the early few laps and slowly rode his way towards the front of the race. By the time he got there, Pauwels and Albert were already gone. Nys admitted afterwards that he had no energy, which is the price he probably paid for dominating the past few weeks.

Nys’ third place keeps him in the overall lead, but because Pauwels finished second, the gap is a mere five points. Zdenk Stybar, who was active early, faded to eighth place and now sits in third, 10-points behind Nys. Bart Aernouts is only three points behind Stybar and has a really, really, outside chance of fighting for the overall. The Superprestige series takes a break until the final two rounds early February.

GP DAF Grand Garage Engel (C2)

After a one-year hiatus from the UCI calendar GP DAF Grand Garage Engel returned this year as a C2 race. Being up against the World Cup race in Zolder, saw a field of lesser known riders take to the start grid. As was the case in 2008 and 2009, a Belgian won the race, this year it was Daev de Cleyn. He was able to get away from a four-man lead group to beat two check riders, Lubomir Petrus and Vojtech Nipl by nine seconds.

Internationales Radquer Dagmersellen (C2)

Francis Mourey opted to skip the World Cup race in Zolder and rode away from the largely Swiss field in Dagmersellen. Switzerland’s Ralph Naef and Pirmin Lang finished second and third, just a head of Lukas Fluckiger. Despite Mourey’s domination, the race was incredibly tight, with the top-ten separated by less then 30-seconds.

UCI World Cup Round 6 – Heusden-Zolder (CDM)

After four laps around the muddy course in Zolder, it became quite clear that the three best cross riders in the world were in complete control. Zdenk Stybar, Kevin Pauwels and Sven Nys had separated themselves from a strong group of riders including Niels Albert, Lars Boom and Bart Wellens. In the end, Pauwels crossed the line just ahead of Stybar, who spent almost the entire last lap trying to get away from Nys and Pauwels. Nys, who switched bikes on the final lap to make sure he had an 11 tooth cog, slid out in the final corner and rolled across the line in third.

As a result of Pauwels’ victory, the World Cup leader’s skinsuit changes hands again, as Pauwels recaptured the lead. Nys sits ten-points behind Pauwels with two rounds remaining. Although Zdenek Stybar finished second, he sits 65 points behind Pauwels and is pretty much out of contention at this point. The World Cup continues on Janurary 15th in Lievin, France.

GVA Trofee Round 5 – Azencross (C1)

Despite being sick, Niels Albert soloed his way to victory in Loenhout in impressive fashion. Zdenek Stybar finished second, ahead of Sven Nys. The real story on the day was the mess of crashes and mechanicals that cost many of the favorites a shot at victory. The first rider to go down was overall leader Kevin Pauwels, who crashed into another rider on the first lap and found himself in last place. Pauwels would ride his way through the field en route to a sixth place finish. Sven Nys began to make his way to the front a few laps later before crashing and dropping his chain. Finally, there was American Jonathan Page, who was in the mix for a potential top-ten finish before a crash and dropped chain cost him time as well.

In addition to his second place, Stybar was able to win the intermediate sprint, picking up three points. As a result, he now sits 12 points behind Pauwels with three rounds remaining. Niels Albert moved into third overall, 30 points back. The next stop for the GVA Trophy is New Years day in Baal. If Stybar continues to make up ground on Pauwels, Pauwels could find himself in a fight for the GVA Trophy, World Cup and Superprestige in late January/early February.