2009 World Cyclo-Cross Championships - Day 2

1 Feb 2009, Holland

Report and Images: Joolze Dymond

Links: Day 1 Race Report | 'Cross Worlds Training Report

Day 2 and the men's race gets underway, with the Belgians prominent, as ever!

Dutch women Marianne Vos took her second senior 'Cross title to the delight of the massed ranks of her fellow countrymen in Hoogerheide, Holland. Arguably the best all-round female endurance rider of all time (she has won senior titles in Road, Track and 'Cross), and still only 21, Vos took a 3-rider sprint, holding off early leader Katie Compton (USA), who finished third and former champion Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany). Leading British rider was Nikki Harris in 14th place.

The Men's race went to Albert Neils of Belgium. He attacked on the second lap and although joined for a time in the lead by eventual runner up, Stybar of the Czech Republic, he went again and pretty much dictated terms to the rest of the riders throughout. Stybar held on to second place and came in alone, as did world number one, Sven Nys, who claimed the bronze after breaking free of the chasing pack in the last quarter of the race. Leading British rider was national champion, Jody Crawforth in 31st.

WOMEN'S RACE

Sunday began with Nikki Harris, Gabriella Day and Helen Wyman arriving at the course to prepare for their race, alongside thousands of ardent Dutch, Belgian and German supporters, who started to pour into the compact arena. Soon the landscape was transformed with swaying Europeans, drowning in a sea of flags, giddy with excitement and perhaps bolstered by one or two alcoholic beverages. Elvis is obviously alive and kicking and living the Cyclo-Cross fan's dream as I spotted him at least once beer in hand, next to the pope and a family of bears?.

Katy Compton, early leader and eventual bronze medallist

As the 11.30 start inched every closer the GB girls were called up to the grid, with Helen taking pole position on the front line, followed by Gabby on row 3 and then Nikki back in row 4. Hopes were once again high that we might get a GB woman in contention and then the red lights went green and they were off. The very first corner saw the very first crash, with both Helen and Nikki caught up in the melee. All they could do was quickly pick themselves up, dust themselves down and start in pursuit of the fast moving train that was rapidly leaving the station without them.

At the head of the race Katy Compton was keen to get as much space between herself and the rest of the field and went out in front with last year's champion Hanka Kuppernagel and Marianne Vos in hot pursuit. For three laps Compton held the hunters at bay, but then she found herself dancing fervently behind Kuppernagel and Vos, now the hunter instead of the hunted, keeping an eye on any opportunity to take off again.

Nikki Harris produced an encouraging ride

But she never got the chance as the Vos and Kuppernagel kept up the pressure and as they neared the end of the 6th lap, the crowd were treated to a 3 up sprint for the coveted title, which went to Vos, going one better than last year. Kuppernagel took silver and Compton took a hard earned 3rd.

For the British girls it was a race both of delight and disappointment. Gabby and Helen were disappointed with their races, coming in 24th and 16th respectively. While Nikki had a very fine ride, coming into the CX season off the back of track and road training to pick up a creditable 14th, leaving us all wondering, 'what if?' after that first lap crash.

MEN'S RACE

As the afternoon progressed the temperature dropped, bringing with it a passing flurry of snow (a taster of what lay in wait at home for us!) to the previously breathlessly blue skies. Crowds continued to flood into the site until it was full to bursting. At this point the organisers quickly decided to stop any more people coming into the arena and, more significantly, closed all the course crossing points, which as a photographer meant you were stuck in one spot virtually! Not ideal! So apologies to both the readers and the riders if all my photos from the men's event looks like I took them at a critrium!

The senior men's race was set to be a humdinger of a with everyone's favourites Boom, Vervecken, Albert and Nys out to grab the title. As the lights flicked to green the massive 69 strong bunch of riders flew up the climb into the town and pedalled furiously down the finishing straight before heading off to hit the dirt.

Ian Field, left, and Jody Crawforth

Albert made his move early on the second lap, quickly opening up a gap that Czech rider Stybar tried hard to bridge. But he couldn't quite get on terms with the flying Belgian. Over the 10 lap race the first two positions seemed remarkably settled with only the 3rd spot unaccounted for. Of course there were plenty of players (mainly Belgians!) in the mix wanting some of the action.

One of the pre-race favourites, Lars Boom, quickly made his exit crashing heavily on one of the frozen course's slippery sections. In the end it was Sven Nys who started to move up, breaking clear of the chasing group, to claim his position on the podium. He'd left it too late to make any mark on the front runners and Albert came home with plenty of time to soak up the cheers as he cruised across the line, followed by Stybar and then Nys to finish the medal line up.

Paul Oldham and "the Pope"

Further down the field the GB boys were having a mixed race. The hard-packed conditions turning the course into a fast and furious circuit, leaving them all to fight for their own little corner of UK.

Paul Oldham had a mare of a day, not really enjoying the conditions, much preferring the hard slog of a mud-bound course, and finished in a disappointing 48th. Ian Field was also finding the going hard, preparing for what he thought would be a mud fest left him fighting for position, tooth and nail. He finally came home in 39th.

Jody Crawforth had a great race considering his starting point. When you're near the back of a 69 strong pack of riders travelling at some considerable speed it takes determination and sheer hard work to make any headway at all, something that all our riders were acutely aware of. However Crawforth fought gamely on, picking off riders, not dropping the pressure on the pedals and in fact, after 50 minutes of hard racing, went on to record the fastest lap of any of the finishers, a remarkable achievement and one that suggests our riders could, if given the chance, mix it with the world's best.

Niels Albert claims the win alone

Jody's 31st place was a great result when you also consider none of our senior riders are full time pros, they have full time jobs to go back to and fit in training when they can, unlike the top Europeans where it's a completely different story. I reckon the boys did good!

Rider's post-race comments:

Nikki Harris
I was happy with that, I would have been made up at the start of the year if you'd said I would have got a top 15 at the World Champs - to be honest I wouldn't have believed you. I was a bit gutted to have been caught up in he crash on the first corner, I'd come right from the back and was in that first little group and I know I could have stayed with them but crap happens so maybe next year I'll get a bit more luck. I fought hard to get back in the mix, I guess the crash really fired me up, it was crazy out there, real mad with all the people shouting for me, it was such a great atmosphere and that really makes you try harder. I really enjoyed it and I want to keep going now improve my riding for next season and hopefully be selected again. I'll go away from here now and start working on my weaknesses, like running and building up the strength in my arms. If you have form you can perform on any course, but if it's muddy you'll be doing a fair amount of running, and I would have struggled with that if it had been muddy here, so the fact it was hard and fast favoured me today. Related: Interview: Nikki Harris

Nikki Harris

Helen Wyman
That was incredibly disappointing, I had an amazing start, my best start all season I was in 3rd coming into the corner and then Saskia (Elemans) went round it far too quickly and crashed right in front of me leaving me no where to go so I went straight over her and hit the deck. After that it was a game of catch up, which is very hard on a fast course like this one. I was screwed. I tried so hard to make it back and then you try too hard and then you go backwards again and when it so fast it's just so difficult. I'd got up really quickly but that was it. So there's next year again. It's just one race but it's so important, so yeah let's see what's happens next year?

Helen Wyman, left, and Gabriella Day

Gabby Day
That wasn't really the result I'd hoped for out there, I'm really disappointed with that. I had a cold leading up to the race but I thought I was over it but the cold air out there really got to my chest and I was struggling and coughing, I just didn't have it in my legs.
It's so hard knowing you can do better and then dealing with the disappointment when you don't perform.

Jody Crawforth
Yeah that was pretty much what I expected, it was very similar to the races I did over Xmas. I was a bit disappointed with my start really, I was a bit far down in amongst the chaos, it was really rough and very aggressive, it's so difficult to move up and then during the race I was stuck in a group for the first half and then I started moving up a bit and caught a couple of guys on the last lap. But it's just so hard really you need a good start. I loved being here though, you just need to get a good start and then you're a few places up and you're in the race then. I just tried my best.

Paul Oldham
That wasn't too brilliant out there, it weren't my sort of thing. I didn't enjoy it at all, it were just too fast and bumpy. I got round but that were about it. It was a good atmosphere and brilliant crowd but it just wasn't my sort of course.

Ian Field
That was very hard, it was ridiculously fast. We knew that was going to happen. It was just like a crit with lots of dead turns. You just had to try really hard to hang onto the wheel in front of you. I was with a group with Jody for a while but I kept getting dropped and getting back on and then it split with 3 laps to go, I didn't think I was going to make it round on the last lap. That was hard I definitely wasn't saving anything for the end. Despite everything it's still good to be here to fly the flag for GB. I kind of prepared for a muddy race, as in long efforts and slogging round, so in some respects I was a bit unprepared for who it actually was. Last time I rode here there was quite a bit of running, but today it was so different. Next year it's Tabor, you never know I might just win that one!

Simon Burney - Team Manager
There was a coming together at the start of the girl's race, which brought both Nikki and Helen down. But I think Nikki did an excellent ride. The whole time she's been here she's been really focused, really motivated to do well and we're delighted with her result. To be honest there is always the "what if", if she hadn't had that coming together, but that's racing, there's very few World Champs where people don't crash and you kind of make your own luck to some extent: sometimes it's bad and sometimes it's good. It evens itself out and to be able to ride at the kind of speed she was going I think proves she's moved on massively during the season. She just has to get out of her track training mentality and focus now on her 'Cross.

She's already talking about what she needs to do for next season, she knows her weaknesses. So now she's totally committed to improving her 'Cross. She used to be a mountain biker and then she ended up on the track programme and now she's said she realises how much she's missed riding 'Cross whilst she's been on the track and it's great now that she's fully committed to 'Cross, it adds another one to the other two living in Belgium and mixing it up in the races over there. And from our point of view the other two aren't moving up at all so it's good to see a new rider emerging that will perform and hopefully give them a kick up the behind in the process.

It was a hard race out there for the boys but to be honest I wasn't expecting it to be any other way. They all did a creditable ride, they all rode within expectations, that's where they're at, early 30's, early 40's. They're the best 3 riders we have in Britain and they had good solid consistent races, which was all good. Jody recorded the fastest lap of anyone on the last lap, which is remarkable after a hard 50 minute min race and only goes to prove that a good start makes all the difference. Jody proved he can ride at a pace with the fastest guys in the world, but starting 6 or 7 rows behind, you're going to struggle to get in real contention, unless there's a massive pile up in front. It's encouraging to see a ride like this.

Geoff Shergold's Retirement

Geoff Shergold receives his retirement gifts

Saturday night back at the hotel after a hard day's racing, there was a sad moment. After nearly 30 years as a mechanic for many GB teams, Geoff Shergold is finally hanging up his workshop apron and mothballing his tools. The team came together to wish Geoff a fond farewell, over the dinner table. Geoff unsurprisingly was very nearly speechless, as Martin Eadon presented him with his 'gold watch' an inscribed glass momento while Geoff's 'young apprentice' Peter Hargroves presented his mentor with a mounted wheel wrench. However, Geoff a man of many words and plentiful tales, soon found his voice and quickly had us rolling in the isles as per usual. He'll be missed by riders and everyone who knew him on the circuit! Typically, come Sunday morning it was back to business, and Geoff and the boys were down at the race site at the crack of dawn setting up ready for the next batch of races.

Results

Senior Men
1 ALBERT Niels BELGIUM 01:02:24
2 STYBAR Zdenek CZECH REPUBLIC +00:22
3 NYS Sven BELGIUM +00:38
4 WELLENS Bart BELGIUM +01:10
5 MOUREY Francis FRANCE +01:23
6 PAUWELS Kevin BELGIUM +01:23
7 VANTHOURENHOUT Sven BELGIUM +01:24
8 ZAHNER Simon SWITZERLAND +01:24
9 CHAINEL Steve FRANCE +01:24
10 VANTORNOUT Klaas BELGIUM +01:24
11 FONTANA Marco Aurelio ITALY +01:24
12 AL Thijs NETHERLANDS +01:24
13 FRANZOI Enrico ITALY +01:25
14 LOPEZ Jonathan FRANCE +01:26
15 HEULE Christian SWITZERLAND +01:29
16 DE KNEGT Gerben NETHERLANDS +01:50
17 DLASK Petr CZECH REPUBLIC +01:51
18 AUSBUHER Kamil CZECH REPUBLIC +01:51
19 VERVECKEN Erwin BELGIUM +01:51
20 BOOM Lars NETHERLANDS +01:51
21 VAN IJZENDOORN Eddy NETHERLANDS +01:51
22 WILDHABER Marcel SWITZERLAND +01:52
23 HERMIDA RAMOS Jose Antonio SPAIN +01:52
24 BAZIN Nicolas FRANCE +01:56
25 VAN GILS Wilant NETHERLANDS +02:01
26 SIMUNEK Radomir CZECH REPUBLIC +02:45
27 BIANCO Marco ITALY +02:46
28 BIRKENFELD Rene Absp;GERMANY +02:47
29 ZABALLA GUTIERREZ Constantino SPAIN +02:48
30 MURGOITIO REKALDE Egoitz SPAIN +02:51
31 CRAWFORTH Jody GREAT BRITAIN +02:53
32 SUAREZ FERNANDEZ Isaac SPAIN +02:53
33 URSI Fabio ITALY +02:53
34 GIL Mariusz POLAND +02:53
35 POWERS Jeremy UNITED STATES OF AMERICA +02:54
36 CICHOSZ Marek POLAND +02:59
37 BARENYI Milan SLOVAKIA +03:11
38 GROENENDAAL Richard NETHERLANDS +03:25
39 FIELD Ian GREAT BRITAIN +04:01
40 PARBO Joachim DENMARK +04:17
41 RUIZ DE LARRINAGA IBANEZ Javier SPAIN +04:26
42 PRESSLAUER Peter AUSTRIA +04:35
43 VISINELLI Rafael ITALY +04:36
44 SHRIVER Matt UNITED STATES OF AMERICA +04:44
45 BAUSCH Gusty LUXEMBOURG +04:47
46 HARING Martin SLOVAKIA +04:48
47 DARVELL Magnus SWEDEN +04:49
48 OLDHAM Paul GREAT BRITAIN +04:56
49 MATTER Brian UNITED STATES OF AMERICA +05:12
50 ZLAMALIK Martin CZECH REPUBLIC +05:19
51 KOSAKA Masanori JAPAN +05:24
52 PAGE Jonathan UNITED STATES OF AMERICA +05:47
53 KOVAC Maros SLOVAKIA +06:26
54 ST JOHN Derrick CANADA -1LAP
55 WESTERGREN Jens SWEDEN -1LAP
56 SCHOOLER Aaron CANADA -2LAP
57 VAN AMERONGEN Thijs NETHERLANDS -3LAP
58 TISZA Zoltan HUNGARY -3LAP
59 PECHENIN Evgeny RUSSIAN FEDERATION -3LAP
60 ATHANASIADES Marios CYPRUS -3LAP
61 VESTBY Martin NORWAY -4LAP
62 TSUJIURA Keiichi JAPAN -5LAP
63 VASILYEV Boris RUSSIAN FEDERATION -5LAP
64 BELOKRYLOV Alexey RUSSIAN FEDERATION -5LAP
   
Senior Women
1 VOS Marianne NETHERLANDS 00:42:39
2 KUPFERNAGEL Hanka GERMANY +00:01
3 COMPTON Katherine UNITED STATES OF AMERICA +00:02
4 VAN PAASSEN Sanne NETHERLANDS +00:29
5 MANI Caroline FRANCE +00:29
6 CANT Sanne BELGIUM +00:29
7 VAN DEN BRAND Daphny NETHERLANDS +00:30
8 MELCHERS-VAN POPPEL Mirjam NETHERLANDS +00:30
9 LECHNER Eva ITALY +00:31
10 SALVETAT Maryline FRANCE +00:31
11 LLOYD Rachel UNITED STATES OF AMERICA +00:32
12 FERRIER-BRUNEAU Christel FRANCE +00:37
13 GOULD Georgia UNITED STATES OF AMERICA +01:02
14 HARRIS Nikki GREAT BRITAIN +01:13
15 VANDERBEKEN Joyce BELGIUM +01:34
16 WYMAN Helen GREAT BRITAIN +02:03
17 BUTLER Susan UNITED STATES OF AMERICA +02:04
18 SIMMS Wendy CANADA +02:30
19 VAN GILDER Laura UNITED STATES OF AMERICA +02:57
20 FERRAND PREVOT Pauline FRANCE +02:58
21 ELLIOTT Natasha CANADA +02:58
22 OGISHIMA Mika JAPAN +03:29
23 SCHWEIZER Sabrina GERMANY +03:38
24 DAY Gabriella GREAT BRITAIN +03:39
25 ALESSIO Veronica ITALY +04:04
26 TOYOOKA Ayako JAPAN +04:05
27 BRESCIANI Daniela ITALY +04:06
28 CAVANI Milena ITALY +04:06
29 RIEDL Elke AUSTRIA +05:10
30 CUCCINIELLO Francesca ITALY +05:11
31 HARLTON Pepper CANADA +05:24
32 KYPTOVA Jana CZECH REPUBLIC +05:43
33 TRIQUET-CLAUDE Nadia FRANCE +06:09
34 M܌LER Lise SWITZERLAND +06:20
35 LEUMANN Katrin SWITZERLAND +07:25