Niels Albert takes his first World Cup win of the season at Koksijde. © Thomas Van Bracht
KOKSIJDE, BELGIUM – Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) was all smiles today as he took the win at the third race of the 2013-2014 season’s UCI World Cup in Koksijde, the same place where he took his World Championship title two years ago.
With no one visible behind him on the short finishing stretch of pavement, Albert had enough time to celebrate with a quick dismount and remount just before crossing the line.
Francis Mourey (FDJ.fr) finished in second place in a sprint finish over Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus), 32 seconds behind Albert. Also in the chase group on the final stretch was World Champion Sven Nys (Crelan-KDL), who after managing a good start, dropped back in the field with several time-consuming errors. Nys recomposed himself and made his way into the chase group but did not have enough in the end to challenge the sprint, finishing fourth just ahead of Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games).
Wietse Bosmans was having an excellent ride until a crash into the fencing took him out of the race and off to the nearest hospital on a stretcher. Cyclocross.info later reported that he was in stable condition, but the fear of a concussion kept him at the hospital.
Compton looks pleased as punch with another World Cup win cementing her series lead at Koksijde. © Thomas van Bracht
In the Elite Women’s race, Katie Compton (Trek Cyclocross Collective), in her characteristic style, rode away from the rest of the field early, maintaining her lead for the victory.
Compton separated herself from the field near the end of the first lap and continued to increase her lead over the course of the race. The battle for second place formed behind her, between Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) and Nkki Harris (Young Telenet-Fidea).
Cant and Harris were very close through most of the race, with Cant maintaining a slight lead to finish second, 1:09 behind Compton. Harris finished third 1:23 behind the leader.
Check back later for a detailed report and more images.
2013 World Cup Koksijde Gallery:
Elite Men's Results – 2013 World Cup Koksijde:
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niels ALBERT | BEL | 1:04:49 |
| 2 | Francis MOUREY | FRA | 1:05:21 |
| 3 | Philipp WALSLEBEN | GER | 1:05:21 |
| 4 | Sven NYS | BEL | 1:05:23 |
| 5 | Kevin PAUWELS | BEL | 1:05:26 |
| 6 | Tom MEEUSEN | BEL | 1:05:43 |
| 7 | Bart AERNOUTS | BEL | 1:05:54 |
| 8 | Klaas VANTORNOUT | BEL | 1:06:02 |
| 9 | Corne VAN KESSEL | NED | 1:06:03 |
| 10 | Lars VAN DER HAAR | NED | 1:06:22 |
| 11 | Rob PEETERS | BEL | 1:06:38 |
| 12 | Thijs VAN AMERONGEN | NED | 1:06:43 |
| 13 | Niels WUBBEN | NED | 1:06:45 |
| 14 | Bart WELLENS | BEL | 1:06:45 |
| 15 | Enrico FRANZOI | ITA | 1:07:05 |
| 16 | Marcel MEISEN | GER | 1:07:41 |
| 17 | Marcel WILDHABER | SUI | 1:07:46 |
| 18 | Lubomir PETRUS | CZE | 1:07:49 |
| 19 | Julien TARAMARCAZ | SUI | 1:07:51 |
| 20 | Twan VAN DEN BRAND | NED | 1:07:54 |
| 21 | Thijs AL | NED | 1:08:01 |
| 22 | Patrick VAN LEEUWEN | NED | 1:08:01 |
| 23 | Martin BINA | CZE | 1:08:18 |
| 24 | Radomir SIMUNEK | CZE | 1:08:26 |
| 25 | Eddy VAN IJZENDOORN | NED | 1:08:44 |
| 26 | Nicolas BAZIN | FRA | 1:08:58 |
| 27 | Javier RUIZ DE LARRINAGA IBANEZ | ESP | 1:09:24 |
| 28 | Ian FIELD | GBR | 1:09:43 |
| 29 | Mariusz GIL | POL | 1:10:09 |
| 30 | Fabien CANAL | FRA | 1:10:19 |
| 31 | Jonathan PAGE | USA | 1:10:52 |
| 32 | Martin HARING | SVK | 1:11:18 |
| 33 | Marco PONTA | ITA | |
| 34 | Vladimir KYZIVAT | CZE | |
| 35 | Micki VAN EMPEL | NED | |
| 36 | Kenneth HANSEN | DEN | |
| 37 | Sascha WEBER | GER | |
| 38 | Ondrej BAMBULA | CZE | |
| 39 | Robert GAVENDA | SVK | |
| 40 | Milan BARENYI | SVK | |
| 41 | Vaclav METLICKA | SVK | |
| 42 | Inigo GOMEZ ELORRIAGA | ESP | |
| 43 | Yannick MAYER | GER | |
| 44 | Christian HELMIG | LUX | |
| 45 | Michal MALêK | CZE | |
| 46 | Angus EDMOND | NZL | |
| 47 | Fredrik EDIN | SWE | |
| 48 | Jon GOMEZ ELORRIAGA | ESP | |
| 49 | Christoph AMBROZIAK | GER | |
| 50 | Michel VUELTA IZQUIERDO | ESP | |
| 51 | Ivan JOVANOVIC | SRB |
Elite Women's Results – 2013 World Cup Koksijde:
| Rank | Name | Nat. | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katherine COMPTON | USA | 43:32:00 |
| 2 | Sanne CANT | BEL | 44:40:00 |
| 3 | Nikki HARRIS | GBR | 44:54:00 |
| 4 | Sabrina STULTIENS | NED | 45:27:00 |
| 5 | Sophie DE BOER | NED | 45:28:00 |
| 6 | Helen WYMAN | GBR | 46:03:00 |
| 7 | Pavla HAVLIKOVA | CZE | 46:14:00 |
| 8 | Martina MIKULASKOVA | CZE | 46:49:00 |
| 9 | Loes SELS | BEL | 46:57:00 |
| 10 | Ellen VAN LOY | BEL | 47:12:00 |
| 11 | Reza HORMES | NED | 47:14:00 |
| 12 | Lucie CHAINEL-LEFEVRE | FRA | 47:26:00 |
| 13 | Gabriella DURRIN | GBR | 47:39:00 |
| 14 | Annefleur KALVENHAAR | NED | 48:28:00 |
| 15 | Laura VERDONSCHOT | BEL | 48:37:00 |
| 16 | Githa MICHIELS | BEL | 48:37:00 |
| 17 | Crystal ANTHONY | USA | 49:23:00 |
| 18 | Marlne MOREL PETITGIRARD | FRA | 49:27:00 |
| 19 | Christine MAJERUS | LUX | 49:52:00 |
| 20 | Karen VERHESTRAETEN | BEL | 50:03:00 |
| 21 | Monique VAN DE REE | NED | 50:30:00 |
| 22 | Lotte EIKELENBOOM | NED | 50:41:00 |
| 23 | Nikola NOSKOVA | CZE | 50:48:00 |
| 24 | Asa Maria ERLANDSSON | SWE | 50:56:00 |
| 25 | Katrien THIJS | BEL | 51:03:00 |
| 26 | Jessica LAMBRACHT | GER | 51:14:00 |
| 27 | Evy KUIJPERS | NED | |
| 28 | Stephanie DE CROOCK | BEL | |
| 29 | Christine VARDAROS | USA | |
| 30 | Lisa HECKMANN | GER | |
| 31 | Martina KUKULOVA | CZE | |
| 32 | Hannah PAYTON | GBR | |
| 33 | Agnes NAUMANN | GER | |
| 34 | Liv-Susanne BACHMANN | GER | |
| 35 | Mercedes PACIOS PUJADO | ESP |
