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GIETEN, NETHERLANDS: On a sunny but blustery day, Klaas Vantornout had to contend with fierce winds, sticky mud and a charging Sven Nys to win the fifth edition of the 2012 Superprestige series at Gieten. The Sunweb-Revor duo of Vantornout and Kevin Pauwels joined Nys (Landbouwkrediet) when the Belgian champ attacked on the finishing straight heading into the fourth lap, and the three rode the rest of the race together, with Nys and Vantornout trading salvos as Pauwels visibly struggled on their wheels. The finish looked to come down to a straight-up sprint, but a bobble first by Pauwels, and then by Nys, who slipped out of his pedal and tapped his foot to the ground right before entering the pavement, left Vantornout alone to push to the line. Nys buried himself in a sprint to catch and come alongside the lanky Vantornout, but ran out of road before he could overcome him for the win, losing his first Superprestige race of 2012 by inches.

Vantornout and Nys traded leads until the end  © Bart Hazen

Vantornout and Nys traded leads until the end © Bart Hazen

It was a day of retribution for the Sunweb-Revor team, who have been plagued by crashes, mechanicals  and near misses for much of the season. Rob Peeters (Telenet-Fidea), who chased solo for much of the latter half of the race, followed in fourth, with a resigned Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) crossing in fifth a few lengths ahead of Bart Aernouts (AA Drink). American Jonathan Page took 15th.

“I knew I had to take advantage of my strong final lap,” said Vantornout. “Nys has a good sprint, so I had to escape. I pulled hard and was lucky that Nys made a mistake. I really needed this win. Nys is clearly strongest this year, but we will try to beat him every week. Now this is my best season.”

With 74 points, Nys continues to lead the Superprestige series, ahead of Albert’s 63 and Pauwels’ 61.

The women’s field welcomed back World Champion Marianne Vos (Rabobank), who opted to return to cyclocross on her home turf. The Dutch wonder wasted no time reasserting herself, taking the holeshot and attacking to establish an immediate gap with European champion Helen Wyman (Kona). The pair rode together for much of the race, but the familiar script did not play out as usual – rather than Vos storming away for the win, it was Wyman who dropped the world champion and raised her hands in solo victory. Vos gave a smile and a wave to the crowd as she crossed in second, and Sanne Cant followed in third.

“It’s Marianne’s first race back, and it’s a really tough one,” said Wyman. “So I thought, keep going, keep going and see what happens. It was brilliant.”

In the U23 race, Wout van Aert (Telenet-Fidea) won solo ahead of Jens Adams (BKCP-Powerplus), with Wietse Bosmans (BKCP-Powerplus) following in third. Mathieu van der Poel continued his winning streak in the Juniors, riding a blistering solo race to finish well alone.

Bart Hazen Photo Galleries:

Elite Men:

Elite Women:

U23:

Juniors

Results:

2012 Superprestige Gieten Elite Men

RankNameNat.Result
1Klaas VANTORNOUTBEL54:06:00
2Sven NYSBEL54:06:00
3Kevin PAUWELSBEL54:16:00
4Rob PEETERSBEL54:49:00
5Niels ALBERTBEL54:54:00
6Bart AERNOUTSBEL55:03:00
7Philipp WALSLEBENGER55:24:00
8Jan DENUWELAEREBEL55:45:00
9Mariusz GILPOL55:46:00
10Sven VANTHOURENHOUTBEL55:49:00
11Bart WELLENSBEL55:58:00
12Thijs VAN AMERONGENNED56:04:00
13Lars VAN DER HAARNED56:07:00
14Micki VAN EMPELNED56:23:00
15Jonathan PAGEUSA56:32:00
16Jim AERNOUTSBEL56:38:00
17Joeri ADAMSBEL56:43:00
18Dieter VANTHOURENHOUTBEL56:58:00
19Gerben DE KNEGTNED57:07:00
20Mitchell HUENDERSNED57:16:00
21Niels WUBBENNED57:16:00
22Lubomir PETRUSCZE57:16:00
23Radomir SIMUNEKCZE57:16:00
24Christoph PFINGSTENGER58:08:00
25Marcel MEISENGER58:55:00
26Eddy VAN IJZENDOORNNED59:08:00
27Vincent BAESTAENSBEL59:44:00
28Patrick VAN LEEUWENNED1:00:03
29Thijs ALNED1:00:21
30Arnaud JOUFFROYFRA1:00:50
31Matthieu BOULOFRA1:01:05
32Jordy LUISMANNED1:01:34
33Arnaud GRANDSUI1:01:45
34Tim RIECKMANNGER
35Bart BARKHUISNED
36Paul TIMMERNED
37Sebastian SATTLERGER
38Paul HEIJNED

2012 Superprestige Gieten Women

 1   Helen Wyman GBR 
 2   Marianne Vos  NED 
 3   Sanne Cant BEL 
 4   Sanne Van Paassen NED 
 5   Sabrina Stultiens NED 
 6   Pavla Havlikova CZE 
 7   Annefleur Kalvenhaar NED 
 8   Reza Hormes-Ravenstijn NED 
 9   Yara Kastelijn  NED 
 10   Jamie Bierens   
 11   Ilona Meter  NED 
 12   Bianca Van Den Hoek  NED 
 13   Lotte Eikelenboom  NED 
 14   Karlijn Swinkels   
 15   Esmee Oosterman  NED 
 16   Suzie Godart  LUX 
 17   Pernilla Van Rozelaar  NED 
 18   Fleur Nagengast  NED 
 19   Anne Peer  NED 
 20   Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado   
 21   Marjolein Wijkel  NED 
 22   Maaike De Heij   
 23   Celine Van Houtum  NED 
 24   Evy Kuijpers  NED 
 25   Floor Weerink  NED 
 26   Marguerite De Neve   
 27   Rachelle Van Kappel  NED 
 28   Claudia Grote   
 29   Chloe Spier  NED