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Niels Albert winning in Lille (file photo). © Bart Hazen

Niels Albert winning in Lille (file photo). © Bart Hazen

OOSTMALLE, BELGIUM – After a disappointing finish last week at Superprestige Middelkerke, where he lost his top spot in the overall standings of that series, Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) found redemption with the win at Oostmalle.

Albert soloed in to claim first place at the eighth and final event of the bpost Bank Trofee series, finishing second in the overall standings, and ending this season on a high note.

“I am very pleased that I was able to get something straight here, and I can see therefore a good feeling about the future,” said Albert.

Corne Van Kessel  (Telenet-Fidea) took the holeshot but was soon overtaken by Albert, Sven Nys (Crelan-AA Drink), and Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea). Then in the third lap, Albert found his rhythm, distancing himself from the competition.

Meeusen tried to respond but could not hold Albert’s wheel, finishing just seven seconds down for second place. Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) emerged from the chase to finish third, 39 seconds down on the leader.

After taking the intermediate sprint, Nys was forced to drop back, finishing 10th for the day. “General fatigue,” is how Nys explained the end-of-season  performance. Yet despite the less than stellar finish, Nys’ advantage going into the event allowed him to secure the overall series win.

In the women’s race, Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) took the win to secure her third bpost Bank Trofee series title, edging out Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Team) for the top spot.

Wyman, who had gone into the final race with a 31 second advantage, could not match the Belgian’s pace, finishing third for the day, 1:35 down on the leader.

Loes Sels (Young Telenet-Fidea), who took the holeshot, had a surprising second-place finish, coming across the line 29 seconds behind Cant, well ahead of Wyman and the rest of the field.

Wyman and Cant were in third and fourth place respectively at the start, when a surge by Cant allowed her to evade what she correctly predicted as a traffic jam in the first sand pit. Nikki Harris (Young Telenet-Fidea) slipped into third in the overall and fourth for the day, in part due to getting caught in the backup that ensued.

Once at the front, Cant put it in high gear. Sels managed to hold her wheel for a time but eventually had to ease off.  Sels, returned to the sport after giving birth to two daughters and said in a post race interview, “I made it my goal to get on the podium over here as I know I go well through the sand.”

2014 bpost Bank Trofee-Oostmalle Elite Men's Results

RankNameNat.Result
1Niels ALBERTBEL1:04:17
2Tom MEEUSENBEL1:04:25
3Kevin PAUWELSBEL1:04:56
4Lars VAN DER HAARNED1:05:02
5Eddy VAN IJZENDOORNNED1:05:16
6Dieter VANTHOURENHOUTBEL1:05:16
7Philipp WALSLEBENGER1:05:16
8Bart AERNOUTSBEL1:05:26
9Rob PEETERSBEL1:05:32
10Sven NYSBEL1:05:47
11Radomir SIMUNEKCZE1:06:02
12Joeri ADAMSBEL1:06:28
13Martin BINACZE1:06:47
14Vincent BAESTAENSBEL1:06:50
15Thijs VAN AMERONGENNED1:06:50
16Jim AERNOUTSBEL1:06:53
17Klaas VANTORNOUTBEL1:07:20
18Sven VANTHOURENHOUTBEL1:07:35
19Thijs ALNED1:07:37
20Kenneth VAN COMPERNOLLEBEL1:07:37
21Niels WUBBENNED1:07:37
22Twan VAN DEN BRANDNED1:07:37
23Corne VAN KESSELNED1:08:34
24Marcel MEISENGER1:08:39
25Stijn HUYSBEL1:09:06
26Patrick VAN LEEUWENNED1:09:11
27Mariusz GILPOL1:09:16
28Bart VERSCHUERENBEL1:09:50
29Ingmar UYTDEWILLIGENBEL1:10:05
30Kevin CANTBEL1:10:27
31Niels KOYENBEL
32Jens GYSBEL
33Davy COMMEYNEBEL
34Wouter GOOSENBEL
35Kristof COPBEL
36Edwin DE WITBEL
37Hans VAN DEN BOGAERTBEL

2014 bpost Bank Trofee – Oostmalle Elite Women's Results

RankNameNatl.Result
1Sanne Cant (Bel)0:37:23
2Loes Sels (Bel)0:00:29
3Helen Wyman (GBr)0:01:35
4Nikki Harris (GBr)0:01:47
5Ellen Van Loy (Bel)0:02:08
6Pavla Havlikova (Cze)0:02:21
7Emma Johansson (Swe)0:02:47
8Yara Kastelijn (Ned)0:03:01
9Reza Hormes-Ravenstijn (Ned)0:03:17
10Githa Michiels (Bel)0:03:18
11Karen Verhestraeten (Bel)0:04:03
12Lindy Van Anrooij (Ned)0:04:11
13Katrien Thijs (Bel)0:04:48
14Shana Maes (Bel)0:04:53
15Margriet Helena Kloppenburg (Den)0:05:17
16Sophie De Boer (Ned)0:05:20
17Nathalie Nijns (Bel)0:05:24
18Hilde Quintens (Bel)0:05:32
19Ilona Meter (Ned)0:05:42
20Jolien Verschueren (Bel)0:06:27
21Meg De Bruyne (Bel)
22Kim Banga (Ned)0:06:55
23Nele Van Maldeghem (Bel)0:07:00
24Valerie Boonen (Bel)0:07:15
25Brenda Kaczmarczyk (Bel)0:07:25
26Stefanie Paul (Ger)0:07:45
27Gertie Willems (Bel)0:08:00
28Christine Vardaros (USA)
29Suzie Godart (Lux)
30Yenthe Boons (Bel)
31Tine Verdeyen (Bel)
32Ilse Vanderkinderen (Bel)
33Lene Vrijsen (Bel)
34Caren Commissaris (Bel)
35Laura Krans (Ned)
36Jessika Timmermans (Bel)
37Cindy Diericx (Bel)
38Jana Dobbelaere (Bel)
39Caitlyn La Haye (Bel)
40Maaike Lanssens (Bel)