Wyman leads British one-two at Koppenbergcross
British champion Helen Wyman (Kona Factory) has won the women's Koppenbergcross in Belgium this afternoon, leading home a British one-two that saw Nikki Harris (Telenet-Fidea) finish second.
The pair each went one better than last year, where they finished second and third behind Sanne Van Paassen of the Netherlands. This year the Belgian Sanne Cant (BKCP) was third and another Brit, Gabby Day (Rapha-Focus) finished sixth.
"I had a good battle with Nikki and on the last lap I managed to get a gap going up the hill [to the top of the course]," Wyman explained to CW.
"It wasn't much, but she crashed on the descent and I won by two or three seconds in the end."
The race is part of the bpost Bank Trofee and encorporates a section of the celebrated Koppenberg cobbled climb in Flanders before taking a very muddy course through the surrounding fields.
Wyman, who is based in nearby Oudenaarde, declared the event as one of her favourites on the calendar and last won in 2010.
The pair underlined their good form which has seen them place in the top five in both rounds of the World Cup already this season. Both will be hoping to continue this heading into the European Championships in Ipswich this weekend.
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Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) won the men's race ahead of Belgian compatriot Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus). Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) was the best of the rest in third place, more than a minute adrift of Nys.
Related links
Koppenbergcross 2012 photo gallery
Wyman and Harris on podium in 'cross World Cup
Wyman and Harris on Koppenbergcross podium
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Richard Abraham is an award-winning writer, based in New Zealand. He has reported from major sporting events including the Tour de France and Olympic Games, and is also a part-time travel guide who has delivered luxury cycle tours and events across Europe. In 2019 he was awarded Writer of the Year at the PPA Awards.
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