My right thigh is really sore today. Not a muscle tear kind of hurt. Sore from exertion. Like when you have a muscle cramp that you cannot relieve for a long time. The muscle just aches afterward. The muscle was stiff before the race yesterday and the effort put forth must have been too much work. It didn't hurt during the race but its sore just bending at the knee now.
News Item of the Day: In the first tough cross race of the season Sven Nys (B) was able to show who the strongest rider of the young season really is. For about 15 minutes he tolerated the company of teammate Richard Groenendaal (Ned), but then he made a move and took off. Lap after lap he increased his lead winning the first race in de ‘Gazet van Antwerpen Troffee’ race series with authority.
The Koppenbergcross was considered the first honest test of the season. So far the weather has been good at all the races, making for fast courses that have not been very decisive. With a lot of climbing this race was almost guaranteed not to end in a mass sprint. Sven Nys wanted to make sure of that, and in the second lap he attacked and got a small gap on the field. Richard Groenendaal bridged the gap pretty smoothly, and the two teammates seemed to be all set for a Rabobank show. But Nys soon realized that he was stronger then Groenendaal and took of on his own.
The large chase group consisted Tim Van Nuffel, Vaclav Jezek, Mario De Clercq, Sven Vanthourenhout, Erwin Vervecken, Peter Van Santvliet, Ben Berden, Wim Jacobs, and Bart Aernouts. World Champion Bart Wellens did not have a good day at all and finished more then four minutes down from eventual winner Nys. Although there were a lot of hostilities, there was no chance they could gain any ground on the leaders. The group stayed together until two laps to go, when Davy Commyene (winner of last Saturday’s race in Dottenys) and Chocolade Jacques rider John Gadret escaped. The French Champion beat Commyene in the sprint.
Naturally Sven Nys was ecstatic after the race: “I was dreaming of a feat like this. This is a beautiful day, now I know why I did all the hard work this summer. Never before have I ridden the Koppenberg climb with such ease. I might have ridden the best race of my career here today. And with all these people here. This is really joyful. I’m not all that worried about the future, I already have six wins this season, and I am hoping to add a few more. And in the past I have shown to be very competitive at the end of the season.
”The strongest rider wins on the Koppenberg” according to Richard Groeoendaal. “Following Nys was impossible today. When I closed in on him in the second lap I already knew. Uphill I was not strong enough. I just decided to race my own tempo and assure myself of second place; that’s not too bad. Today I was the best of the rest.”
Viewpoint: I need to find out what is wrong with Wellens this year.
News Item of the Day: In the first tough cross race of the season Sven Nys (B) was able to show who the strongest rider of the young season really is. For about 15 minutes he tolerated the company of teammate Richard Groenendaal (Ned), but then he made a move and took off. Lap after lap he increased his lead winning the first race in de ‘Gazet van Antwerpen Troffee’ race series with authority.
The Koppenbergcross was considered the first honest test of the season. So far the weather has been good at all the races, making for fast courses that have not been very decisive. With a lot of climbing this race was almost guaranteed not to end in a mass sprint. Sven Nys wanted to make sure of that, and in the second lap he attacked and got a small gap on the field. Richard Groenendaal bridged the gap pretty smoothly, and the two teammates seemed to be all set for a Rabobank show. But Nys soon realized that he was stronger then Groenendaal and took of on his own.
The large chase group consisted Tim Van Nuffel, Vaclav Jezek, Mario De Clercq, Sven Vanthourenhout, Erwin Vervecken, Peter Van Santvliet, Ben Berden, Wim Jacobs, and Bart Aernouts. World Champion Bart Wellens did not have a good day at all and finished more then four minutes down from eventual winner Nys. Although there were a lot of hostilities, there was no chance they could gain any ground on the leaders. The group stayed together until two laps to go, when Davy Commyene (winner of last Saturday’s race in Dottenys) and Chocolade Jacques rider John Gadret escaped. The French Champion beat Commyene in the sprint.
Naturally Sven Nys was ecstatic after the race: “I was dreaming of a feat like this. This is a beautiful day, now I know why I did all the hard work this summer. Never before have I ridden the Koppenberg climb with such ease. I might have ridden the best race of my career here today. And with all these people here. This is really joyful. I’m not all that worried about the future, I already have six wins this season, and I am hoping to add a few more. And in the past I have shown to be very competitive at the end of the season.
”The strongest rider wins on the Koppenberg” according to Richard Groeoendaal. “Following Nys was impossible today. When I closed in on him in the second lap I already knew. Uphill I was not strong enough. I just decided to race my own tempo and assure myself of second place; that’s not too bad. Today I was the best of the rest.”
Viewpoint: I need to find out what is wrong with Wellens this year.
1 Comments:
Interesting. I've not really followed the pro cross races much. This one sounded like there was a bit of drafting. I guess those guys go so fast that you actually can have aerodynamics involved.
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