Dutchman once again concentrates on the road races; Stybar may give it a shot
Like in the past couple of years, Lars Boom will skip the cyclocross World Championships and concentrate on the road racing season. Boom ended his season with the Tour of Beijing and is now looking forward to the Spring Classics. The cyclocross Worlds are scheduled on January 29th in Koksijde, Belgium.
The race doesn’t fit into his classics preparation program, according to Omroep Brabant. Like in years past, Boom will race select events, although he doesn’t know which ones yet. The last time he rode a cross World Championships was at home in Hoogerheide, in 2009. There he was the clear favorite and he had every intention of winning. However, for once the Belgian team united and it was Niels Albert who walked away with gold.
Boom was a World Champion the year before, when the race was held in Treviso, Italy. He has also titles in the U23 category (2007) and in the junior ranks (2003). He has been Dutch champion in the various age categories every year since 2001. He was also the U23 European Champion in 2005.
His switch to the road went well, too. This year, he won the overall of the Tour of Britain by virtue of winning two stages and finishing second in the individual time trial. He also took the prologue of the Critérium du Dauphiné in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
Another individual time trial win came in the Tour of Qatar, whereas he shared the first spot in Tirreno – Adriatico, when his Rabobank squad won the team time trial. He was also second in the race against the clock in Tirreno.
Zdenek Stybar made the switch from cross to road last season for the Quick Step team. He is back in the full cross schedule, finishing third at the recent Koppenbergcross. The World Championships in Koksijde may suit Stybar well, as he won on this particular route with its sand dunes in 2009. He was third in 2008 and second in 2010.