Kevin Pauwels hits form in GvA Trofee
Hasselt, Belgium, was the sight Kevin Pauwels’ long-awaited form-finding performance. The Belgian rider won the latest round of the Gazet van Antwerpen Trofee ahead of season-leaders Zdenek Stybar and
Sven Nys.
“During the race I didn't know if I was better since Nys and Stybar were also riding fast,” said Pauwels to the race press. “The legs were good and the course suited me much better than those from the
previous weeks.”
World cyclo-cross champion Stybar has been warning us that this season wasn’t going to be all about him and Nys. The Czech champion named Pauwels, his Telenet-Fidea teammate, as his biggest threat in the
GvA Trofee, a prediction proven with the latter’s victory on Saturday.
“Really, really happy with my 2nd place today. Congratulations to Kevin Pauwels. He was the strongest today!” wrote Stybar on his Twitter page.
The course in Hasselt was dry and fast for the latest round of the GvA trofee. Pauwels, Stybar and Nys led the race into the final lap after the early leaders, a Klaas Vantornout-led trio from team Sunweb/Revor,
crashed out of contention. Midway through the final lap, the trio were lined up in their winning order going into a crucial sandpit which risked taking any one of them down.
“I knew I had to get to the sandbox first,” said Pauwels to Sporza. “Anyone who rode in the lead there, would win.”
Stybar crossed the line three seconds after Pauwels, and Nys crossed two seconds later. The podium finishers were followed by another Telenet-Fidea rider, Bart Wellens, seven seconds behind, who was himself
followed by Bart Aernouts in the same time.
Pauwels has been riding strong this season but not strong enough to beat Stybar’s early winning streak. Then when Stybar started to struggle, Nys took the overwhelming domination of the season. It seems
that now Stybar has regained his form, but Pauwels has himself stepped up and the playing field is finally leveled.
“I'm glad that I was not bothered by it,” said Stybar of his recent knee problems. “I had a bad feeling in the legs, but I think that everyone had that after the tough race in Hamme. The speed was there,
now I have to get the power to come back.”
Pauwels has jumped up in the GvA standing to 66 points, only four shy of Stybar’s lead. Nys stands in third with 49 and Wellens in fourth with 47.
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