The Netherlands puts on a show in Louisville

Cyclocross fans from around the world gathered to watch the UCI cyclocross world championships held in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday. It was a special moment for North American fans and racers because it was the first time the championships were held outside of Europe.

The highlights of the day were Belgium’s Sven Nys—who captured his first elite world title since 2005, after nearly two decades of dominating cyclocross—and Holland’s Marianne Vos, who put another stamp on her career with an astonishing sixth world cyclocross victory.

Canada sent a full roster of its best ‘cross racers to compete in the junior men, under-23 men, and elite men and women categories. The international start list was littered with world-class names such as defending champions Niels Albert and Vos, Nys, Bart Wellons, Kevin Pauwels and many others.

Drama at the cyclocross world championships started the day before the races when organizers were forced to move all events to Saturday due to flood predictions on Sunday. City workers prepared for the floods by building a barrier of sand bags along the outside edge of the course to try and stop the Ohio River and Beargrass Creek from flowing onto the venue at Eva Bandman Park. Water did pour onto the course, however, and workers spent the majority of the day pumping it out so that the races could continue.

Junior and under-23 Canadians gain world-class experience

The junior field was the first race of the day. Racers completed six laps of the world championships course. Holland’s Mathieu van der Poel won the world title finishing ahead of his fellow countryman Martijn Budding in second and Czech Republic’s Adam Toupalik in third.

Canada’s junior men had respectable performances but, more important, they gained valuable experience racing against the best young riders in the world. Peter Disera was the top-placed rider on the team finishing in 19th place. His teammates Trevor Pearson finished 28th, Isaac Niles 30th and Neil Symington ended in 32nd place.

Holland’s Mike Teunissen earned the rainbow jersey in the under-23 men’s category. He won the race solo ahead of Belgian duo Wietse Bosmans and Wout Van Aert.

The top placed Canadian finisher was Michael Van Den Ham in 31st, Andrew L’Esperance 35th and Conor O’Brien 38th. Evan McNeely, who was primed for a good performance, had a decent start. He maintained a top-30 position for much of the race; however, he did not finish because of an injury.

Batty and Dyck secure top-20 places

Vos has a convincing victory on the slick and muddy worlds course. She earned her sixth cyclocross world championships title finishing the race by more than a minute and a half ahead of American Katie Compton and France’s Lucie Chainel-Lefevre.

A small lead group formed early in the first lap that included Vos. It didn’t take long for her to make a winning move and pull away from the competition before the end of the second lap. Her nearest rival, Compton, had a bad start and was forced to play catch up. By the time she caught the lead group, Vos had already gained a gap that was too big to close.

The big drama was the race for third. As Katerina Nash of the Czech Republic rounded the last corner, she had a mechanical. She opted for a one-footed scooter push to get herself across the line. However, Chainel-Lefevre passed Nash giving the Frenchwoman the bronze.

Emily Batty finished a strong 16th and was the highest placed Canadian in the race. Her teammates Mical Dyck, Canada’s national champion, finished 19th, Wendy Simms 22nd, Pepper Harlton 24th and Julie Lafreniere 27th.

Belgians dominate elite men’s world championships

The elite men’s race came down to two Belgians, Nys and Klaas Vantornout racing neck-and-neck all the way to the last lap. In the end, it was Nys who crossed the finish line first, winning his second world title during his career. Vantornout was forced to settle for second place by a mere two seconds. Holland’s Lars van der Haar stepped on the podium in third place.

The Belgian riders dominated the front row at the start of the elite men’s race. Canada’s Geoff Kabush got a top-30 start and maintained his position through much of the 60-minute race.

Nys and Vantornout separated themselves from the lead group during the final laps. They were closely followed by Francis Mourey, but the Frenchman could not regain contact to the two leaders. Vantornout took the race lead with two laps to go; however, he caught his pedal on some course fencing and lost valuable time (and the race) to Nys.

Kabush finished the race in 24th place. Craig Richey finished two laps down in 34th and Mike Garrigan four laps down in 37th. “Thanks to everyone who made #louisville2013 happen,” Kabush tweeted following the race. “Happy to be part of it. Atmosphere and crowd was mental. Thanks for the cheers.”

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