Published December 27, 2009 01:55PM
World champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) took the lead of the Superprestige cyclocross series on Sunday after winning the sixth round, a mud-splattered, two-man tussle with Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea).
The two quickly separated themselves from the bunch on the muddy course in and around Diegem, Belgium, and were just a handful of seconds apart for most of the race. Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea), winner of Saturday’s World Cup round in Zolder, was third.
Series leader Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) appeared to struggle early and was finally forced from the race, just short of the bell lap, by a mechanical.
American Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) finished 15th.
After the points were tallied, Albert had assumed the series lead with 84 points. Stybar moved into second with 81 while Nys slipped to third with 71.
The next round of the Superprestige series will be February 7, 2010, in Zonhoven, Belgium.