Cyclo-cross world champion Sanne Cant (IKO Enertherm-Beobank) won a muddy fifth round of the Telenet UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Zeven, Germany. British rider Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team) finished in second place at 12 seconds, while US champion Katie Compton (KFC Racing) was third at 23 seconds. With her third World Cup win, Cant strengthens her lead over Kaitlin Keough (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) who crashed early on and finished eleventh in Germany.
“I was having a good time on this course. I felt quite good,” Cant said in the post-race flash interview. The fast course from last year morphed into a slog in the mud during this edition. “I tried to do my own thing on this course without looking too much what the others did. One had to juggle between running and riding the mud. I noticed that the others rode much longer while I felt quite comfortable when running. Apparently, my choice turned out not to be too bad.”
Cant took a smooth start in Zeven, whereas some of her biggest rivals were facing major problems. Last year’s World Cup winner and mud specialist Sophie de Boer (Breepark.nl) and Kaitlin Keough, the current runner-up in the World Cup, crashed in the first corner. They had to work their way through traffic to get back into the top 15. In front, British champion Nikki Brammeier (Boels-Dolmans) and her compatriot Helen Wyman were setting the pace.
ADVERTISEMENT
At the back end of the lap, Wyman accelerated while Brammeier quickly faded back, and Cant, Ellen Noble (Aspire Racing), Compton and Loes Sels (Crelan-Charles) gave chase. Katerina Nash (CLIF Pro Team) was a bit further back with Ellen Van Loy (Telenet Fidea Lions).
During the second of five laps, Cant was able to bridge back up to Wyman. The latter tried to ride as much as possible whereas Cant was often spotted running the climbs and the deep mud sections. Things turned around in the chase group at the highest point of the course, where two loops resulted in two climbs and drops. Sels and Noble both lost contact after dropping their chain on the first bumpy descent. Noble struggled to recover from the setback and finished eighteenth in Zeven. Compton and Nash were the only riders left in contention for the podium spots, trailing leaders Wyman and Cant by 11 and 17 seconds, respectively, after two laps of racing.
Halfway the race, Compton bridged up to Wyman and Cant. Cant briefly created a gap after a technical section, but Compton came back and positioned herself ahead of the world champion. Wyman had a difficult lap but remained within touching distance of the duo.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://ift.tt/2A6W3U3
No comments:
Post a Comment