What's up with this cyclingnews.com post of 1-February-2004??? Sorry for the confusion.
Elite Men Complete Live Report
12:15 CET Welcome to Monopoli for the Elite Men's event of the World Cyclo-cross Championships, the
final event of the weekend. Last year's national champion Mario de Clercq will be looking to
defend his title, but he's facing plenty competition, particularly within his own Belgian team. A
quick start will be crucial for compatriots- and race favourites- Sven Nys and Bart Wellens, to
avoid getting stuck in a support position for de Clercq, known for his fast finishes. Dutchman
Richard Groenendaal is also a favourite, and the key to stopping him may be a unified Belgian
team, which is not a foregone conclusion.
The weather in Monopoli is chilly, with a strong wind and grey skies. Conditions are indeed rather
Belgian! The wind has dried out the course a bit from yesterday's rain, but heavy mud is all around
and will be factor.
13:40 CET Erik de Vlaminck (Belgian coach last season) said before the start, "Mario (de Clercq) is
the oldest with his 36 years, but Wellens and Nys are the strongest. Ben Berden is the surprise
this season."
Concerning the course conditions, de Vlaminck added (not surprisingly), "That slippery parcours is
not so good for Richard Groenendaal, and better for Mario."
14:45 CET The race is underway. Four Belgians are in front, including Mario de Clercq, Van
Noppen and Berden. Sven Nys is around 10th position, while Italian Daniele Pontoni is behind
in the peloton.
Nys is on the wheel of Richard Groenendaal, while the other five Belgians are in front.
15:49 CET Wellens leads after the 1st lap, with a gap of 6 seconds.
1st lap - 6.15" 1 Wellens 2 Vervecken 3 de Clercq 4 Gil (Pol) 5 Nys 6 Berden Groenedaal is not in
this lead group.
16:55 CET Sure enough, there are now six Belgians in front. Gil has had mechanical problems, and the
conditions may mean a lot of action in the pits today. Nys has moved quickly up into second
position, four seconds behind Wellens.
1 Wellens 2 Nys at 4" 3 Vervecken 6" 4 Berden 9" 5 de Clercq 16" 6 Vannoppen
17:57 CET Wellens has a flat! He's had to ride 600 meters with a flat front wheel to
change his bike.
18:59 CET Sven Nys leads after Wellens' flat, with Vervecken on his wheel. Wellens has dropped to
third after a bike change. After this lap there are seven to go.
At the barriers: 1 Nys 2 Vervecken 3 Berden 4 de Clercq 5 Wellens
19:01 CET After the second lap, Nys is still leading with four other Belgians. Pontoni is still in
fighting shape, no sign of Groenendaal.
Lap 2- 6.30"
1 Nys 2 Vervecken 3 Wellens 4 Berden (he will likely bring de Clercq back to the front) 5 de Clercq
6 Daniele Pontoni (Ita) with a group containing one belgian: Vannoppen
20:04 CET Pontoni's group is at 28 seconds, while up front Bart Wellens is beack in the lead. Nys is
3" back, de Clercq 7", Vervecken and Berden are at 10"
21:07 CET Bart wellens is riding away! The Pontoni group is now at 45 seconds. Dutch favourite
Richard Groenendaal follows at 1.20"!
Lap 4 - 6.14" 1 Wellens 25.35" 2 Nys at 9" 3 de Clercq 4 Berden 15" 5 Vervecken 6 Gerben de knegt
(Ned) leads Pontoni group
22:11 CET Bart Wellens leads with 12" back to Nys and de Clercq and 20" to Berden and Vervecken.
Pontoni is in the fence and Gerben de Knegt just fell over his bike.
23:14 CET Bart Wellens is looking strong today. Mario de Clercq has moved ahead of Nys in the
standings, but both are at the same time, 18" back from Wellens. It's shaping up like a Belgian
championship... The last lap time was 6.10".
1 Wellens 31.47" 2 de Clercq at 18" 3 Nys 4 Vervecken 25" 5 Berden 6 Pontoni 1.16"
Groenendaal at 1.40", looks like the Dutchman is not flying today.
24:19 CET
Wellens looks to be slowly pulling away from his compatriots Nys and de Clercq.
Lap time: 6.12" 1 Wellens 2 de Clercq at 21" 3 Nys 4 Vervecken
25:22 CET
Sven Nys isn't looking strong enough to follow defending champion Mario de Clercq. Meanwhile,
Wellens is flying, with 2.5 laps to go.
26:25 CET
Bart Wellens is on fire today. Former Belgian coach Erik de Vlaminck comments that "Bart can become
world champion this way. Nys isn't good, he's even had let Mario go. He needs some help, it's too
much stress for him."
Vervecken has now moved into third spot, passing a fading Sven Nys. Mario de Clercq is 31 seconds
behind Wellens.
27:28 CET
Ben Berden has had a flat. With two laps to go, here's how it's shaping up:
1 Wellens 44.02" 2 de Clercq at 33" 3 Vervecken 54" 4 Nys 1.00" 5 Berden 1.21" 6 Pontoni
28:32 CET
Bart Wellens is in the home stretch- one lap to go! He's already lapped several riders on his
storming ride.
Lap time: 6.11" 1 Bart Wellens 50.13" 2 de Clercq at 40" 3 Vervecken 1.13" 4 Nys 1.20"
29:35 CET
Belgian coach Rudy de Bie is getting optimistic, looking at "a top five and maybe even a top six for
us. Great show by Bart Wellens."
30:37 CET
Ben Berden is at 1.38" and Francis Mourey (Fra) is at 2.10", so we can expect a top 5 for Belgium.
31:39 CET
Winner: Bart Wellens has done it, finishing a fantastic ride to become World Champion ahead of his
star-studded Belgian teammates.
32:40 CET
Winner Bart Wellens had enough time in hand to change his bike in the last section so he could
finish on a clean machine. The 24 year old Wellens now becomes World Champion for the 3rd time,
after two world titles in the espoir ranks.All 6 Belgian riders finished in the top 8.
Wellens summed it up at the finish: "I started badly with the flat. But I was able to came back
quickly. I kept riding and was strong, so after two laps Iattacked."
Final results (provisional)
1 Bart Wellens in 56.43" 2 Mario de Clercq 38" 3 Erwin Vervecken 4 Ben Berden 5 Sven Nys 6 Francis
Mourey (Fra) 7 Daniele Pontoni (Ita) 8 Tom Vernoppen
"Richard Longwood" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> .... I don't know what place, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough!!!
>
> Final results (provisional)
>
> 1 Bart Wellens in 56.43" 2 Mario de Clercq 38" 3 Erwin Vervecken 4 Ben Berden 5 Sven Nys 6 Francis
> Mourey (Fra) 7 Daniele Pontoni (Ita) 8 Tom Vernoppen
>
