Belgian champion escapes Zdenek Stybar on final lap to take his home race
Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) started the year in his accustomed fashion with victory in the race that is organised in his own honour, the Grote Prijs Sven Nys, in his hometown of Baal. The Belgian champion finally managed to escape from Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea), after the World champion slipped on one of the last muddy corners, to win alone; Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) ended a lone futile pursuit of the two leaders finished in third.
“It was not so easy today,” Nys told the Sporza TV cameras after the race. “It was not easy to get rid of a finisher like Stybar. I thought he speculated on his strong downhill so I took the risk of trying to get into his tracks. He is so technically skilled that you must pay attention until the final corners. I’m glad that I still managed to ride him off.
“We’re at the end of a busy Christmas period and everyone starts to feel that; I do too.”
With the big freeze in Belgium over, for a while at least, the melted snow had left the course a muddy quagmire; with very little in the way of natural obstacles the winner was always going to be the rider who could best cope with the mud and standing water that covered the flat parts of the course.
Lars Boom (Rabobank), the winner of the 2006 edition and one of only two people to have denied Nys on this couse, made the first move on lap one. The Dutch champion crashed heavily on a slippery descent though, allowing Stybar to take the lead; Boom was not seriously hurt, but after drifting steadily backwards he decided to climb off his bike at the end of the lap.
Nys had had a bad start, but managed to work his way forwards during the first two laps; he managed to take to the front at the end of the second lap to take the intermediate sprint, and 3 points towards the Gazet van Antwerpen (GvA) Trofee lead.
Into the third lap Stybar accelerated and only Nys was able to go with him. The race now became a one on one battle between the two champions, with each one trying to crack the other with a series of moves and accelerations. Each half lap or so one rider was able to open up a few metres over the other but would be reeled back in again over the next few minutes.
On the final muddy corner of the race Stybar’s back wheel lost traction and the World champion was forced to put his foot down. Nys needed no second invitation and he stamped hard on the pedals to open up a decisive gap.
The final muddy straight saw Stybar all over his bike in an effort to close the gap to Nys, but it was to no avail and the Belgian champion took the final corner onto the tarmac finishing straight alone to take his tenth victory in twelve editions of his own race.
After fighting hard to stay in contention with the leaders, Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea) was forced to capitulate and eventually finished in seventh place. Maximum points for Nys mean that he easily made up the 4 points he needed to take the lead in the GvA Trofee standings from the younger rider. He now leads Pauwels by 9 points with two rounds of the series remaining, and looks on course for his eighth title in nine years.
“I have experience racing on this course,” said Nys of the Baal circuit. “I now have a higher than expected lead in the GvA Trofee. Now I am 9 points ahead [of Kevin Pauwels] but I will have to continue to fight until the last race.”
Result GP Sven Nys 2011
1. Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet
2. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea
3. Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus
4. Klaas Vantournout (Bel) Sunweb-Revor
5. Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea
6. Martin Zlamalik (Cze) Sunweb-Revor
7. Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea
8. Tom Meeusen (Bel) Telenet-Fidea
9. Enrico Franzoi (Ita) BKCP-Powerplus
10. Jan Denuwelaere (Bel) Style and Concept
GvA Trofee standings after six rounds
1. Sven Nys (Bel) Landbouwkrediet 130pts
2. Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Telenet-Fidea 121
3. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Telenet-Fidea 113
4. Niels Albert (Bel) BKCP-Powerplus 99
5. Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet-Fidea 97