Sven Nys (Crelan AA Drink Team) has taken his first victory in over a year at the Soudal GP Hasselt in Belgium today. Nys has faced a difficult year, and today’s race shows that he is back on form.
The riders faced difficult conditions and the muddy, slippy course suited the veteran Belgian. Nys had made a couple of attempts to go clear during the race but had been pegged back each time. Going into the last lap, three riders were still in contention – Nys, Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) and Kevin Pauwels (Marlux-Napoleon Games).
Pauwels tailed off on that last lap and it was down to Nys and Meeusen. Nys put in a final attack on that last lap, and despite Meeusen’s best efforts, Nys pulled away. He held on to take the win by seven seconds, with Pauwels finishing in third.
“I have worked hard for this,” Nys said afterwards. “I’m incredibly happy. Last season went downhill after Hasselt and now I’ve taken my first win since last season. With this win, I can close a difficult year. And the opposition didn’t make it easy.”
“I’m as happy as a young twenty-something who wins his first cross race. I felt for weeks that I had good legs.”
I actually stood up and cheered in my kitchen