As quickly as they came around, the cyclocross World Championships in Tábor are gone again. Sven Nys never saw such a boring global title battle in cyclocross, he confessed to WielerFlits. But this was not an unexpected outcome for the experienced Belgian nor for any of the cross fans.
"This was predictable," said Nys. "That's it again. If you have fast conditions here today and yesterday, you're going to get sprints, you're going to get battles, tactical jousts. The weather determined that was not the case. You simply get a course where it comes down to power and the differences are large."
Nys also discussed the performances of his Baloise - Trek Lions riders among which Joris Nieuwenhuis was ultimately the best in second place while Pim Ronhaar was not so far from podium in fourth. "This was the maximum possible. We achieved this with the elite women and the elite men. That's fantastic."
Lars van der Haar was also on his way to a top-five finish, but he suffered a chain fracture. "I don't know what exactly happened. But it is a shame. They all missed their starts too, Thibau missed his start too. If you have to close a gap, you will fall short in the end. I also thought Thibau rode a very good race. I think he was able to finish sixth or seventh, but those first laps took too much effort."