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GP Sven Nys Cyclocross podium history | 2021 edition | 2023 edition

Complete results: Men | Women

Weather at Baal at 2:40 PM, local time: 14C (58F), sunny, with the wind from the south at 16 km/hr (10 mph). There is just a 2% chance of rain.

Men:

Start list | Results

Wout van Aert starts the year off with another victory, his seventh consecutive race win.

Plato's dialogue Crito is available as an audiobook here. For the Kindle eBook version, just click on th Amazon link on the right.

The race: Here's the report from winner Wout van Aert's Jumbo-Visma team.

Wout van Aert has continued his victory march in the new year. On New Year’s Day, he won the GP Sven Nys in Baal in impressive fashion, despite having problems with his shoes after a crash. It was the seventh victory in a row for the Belgian champion. It was also the first win of 2022 for his employer Team Jumbo-Visma.

Due to a crash in the descent of the Balerberg and the subsequent shoe change, Van Aert had to chase Tom Pidcock and Eli Iserbyt. He succeeded with flying colours. “The crash was my fault”, the Fleming said. “I had to swap shoes. The race was still long after that, so I didn’t give up and fought my way back to the front. It was not easy.”

Van Aert also wanted to prevent Pidcock from noticing his equipment problems. “I only called sports director Jan Boven two corners before the pit lane. That allowed the mechanics to change gears quickly and grab other shoes. You don’t want to make your competitors any wiser during the race. Until the changeover, I couldn’t put any power on or jump over the bars. Good thing Pidcock didn’t notice that.”

The battle between Van Aert and his British rival was not decided until the final lap. “There were some parts of the course where I was able to use my strength and get closer and closer to Tom. It was a tough course with very sticky mud. On the steep uphill section, I gave everything on the last lap, and it worked. Then there was the running section and I was able to do well there too.”

Tomorrow, Sunday, Van Aert continues his cyclocross season with the World Cup in Hulst, Netherlands. “With good food, a good night’s sleep and a massage, I hope to be ready tomorrow with good legs. It’s going to be a tough race again. These are busy weeks, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Complete Results:

Start list with back numbers, December 31, 2021:

Women:

Start list | Results

Lucinda Brand on her way to winning the GP Sven Nys.

The race: Here's a machine translation of the race organizer's report:

Lucinda Brand won the Grand Prix Sven Nys on New Year's Day in Baal. Brand was supreme, just like in the previous crosses. However, in Baal, the fourth round of the X²O Badkamers Trophy cyclo-cross, she had to deal with a surprisingly strong Dutch champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado. Denise Betsema was unable to follow the lead duo and would spend the entire match in third position.

The battle for the win was thrilling. Brand regularly put her compatriot under pressure, but Alvarado bit through and always linked up with the world champion. Alvarado even seemed to take the upper hand for a while in the final lap, until Brand unpacked with a solid acceleration in a running lane. She seemed confident, until Alvarado came up again. In the last straight line, Brand secured her 14th victory of the season.

Although the world champion had her thoughts on Amy Pieters, the Dutch cyclist who has been kept in an artificial coma for days after a collision during training. She is also doing an excellent job in the X²O Badkamers Trophy standings. Betsema completed the podium in 37 seconds and remains the leader in the standings. The entire top five was Dutch with Annemarie Worst and Fem van Empel in fourth and fifth place. Sanne Cant was the first Belgian in sixth place in just over two minutes.

Complete Results:

Start list with back numbers, December 31, 2021: