Published November 16, 2013 11:20AM
Sven Nys (Crelan-KDL) won the GP Hasselt on Saturday.
The world champion out-kicked Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) and Belgian champion Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) to win the third round of the Bpost Bank Trofee series in Lille.
It was his fifth victory of the season.
Both Nys and Albert had trouble in the early going. Nys flatted, while Albert got off to a slow start.
That left Vantornout in charge, and he drove the early pace. But first Albert, then Nys latched onto him, and after three laps a lead group of nine riders had formed.
An attack from Albert made the final selection; both Vantornout and Nys caught his wheel, and it was the world champ who proved strongest in the final sprint.
“If we three all went well through the sand pit, I knew I was the best,” said Nys.
Runner-up Albert disagreed, saying he felt himself the strongest on the day but “just could not get them off” his wheel.
“It was all on the limit for the sprint,” he added. “I am happy with my form.”
“You couldn’t really call it a sprint,” said Vantornout. “It was really a sprint of three dying men.”
Nys continues to lead the Bpost series.
In women’s racing, Sanne Cant (Enertherm-BKCP) took the victory ahead of Helen Wyman (Kona Factory) with Gabriella Durrin (Rapha-Focus) third.