Nys wins the opening round of the World Cup cross series

Sven Nys is the first leader of the UCI World Cup cyclo-cross after winning the opening round of the seven-race competition in Plzen in the Czech Republic.

Incredibly, it was the Landbouwkrediet rider’s 44th career win in the World Cup and his third win of the new winter cyclo-cross season.

This time he beat current world champion fellow Belgian Kevin Pauwels and local hero Zdenek Stybar after he jumped across to them mid-race with a huge solo effort. The three then opened a significant gap on the rest of the field, knowing they would fight it out for the places on the podium.

Thanks to his aggression, speed and superior bike handling ability, Nys dived past Stybar and took the lead on a later corner. He then used his finishing sprint to ensure his Colnago bike was first across the line.

“I had to go hard to catch Stybar and Pauwels and it took me two laps to recover,” Nys admitted after his victory.

“On the last lap there was a lot of tactical games going on. After the steps Stybar left a small gap and I dived into. I surprised him but it worked. I’m glad I can still pull of moves like that.”

As leader of the UCI World Cup series, Nys will wear the leader’s special white jersey in the second round in Tabor, again in the Czech Republic on Sunday October 23.