4th GP de la Commune de Contern / 20th GP Comat - 26.10.2008 - Contern

Reports:

4th Grand-prix de la Commune de Contern:

Just as expected, the 4th edition of the Grand-prix de la Commune de Contern was dominated by the Belgians and particularely the young and talented Dieter Vanthourenhout. The Palmans rider took of in the first lap, never left any doubt about his victory and finished solo, 38 seconds faster than his former team-mate Tom Van den Bosch and more than a minute ahead of anther Flemish rider, Ben Berden. 34 riders have lined up for the 33rd international cyclo-cross of the ACC Contern, which turned out to be a family affair this year. 34 riders at the start There was the Drucker family, of which the father took his most important victory in 1991 on nearly the same course than today, and of which the son needed some confirmation about his form after a disastrous season begin. There was also the family Van den Bosch, of which the son finished 6th 12 months ago in Niederanven and wanted to show himself even better today with his new jersey from the team Rendemend Hypo and of which the father used to race in Luxemburg against father Drucker or Claude Michely several years ago. Vanthourenhout leads already But most of all there was the familiy Vanthourenhour with their older son Dieter, who was thrown out of the Belgian world-cup selection by his oncle Sven, wanted to show his real value and do the same than his younger brother Mike did in the opening race: winning. Van Nuffel, Aernouts, Ghyllebert ... ... then Berden, Van der Linden, Bausch Vanthourenhout didn't wait very long to put the pressure, he took the lead already in the very first meters on the meadow, the same meadow that was covered in mud last January in the Nationals, but that was dry and fast today, so fast that the race turned out to be very hard with very little recuperation time. Eventually, Dieter VT put down the hammer and after Van den Bosch slipped away, he took for good, having already 10 seconds of advantage the first time over the line. Gusty Bausch was well present in the Top 5, next to Van Nuffel, whereas Jempy Drucker didn't have a fantastic start and was around the fifteenth position when the riders tackled the run-up for the first time. Vanthourenhout takes off Van den Bosch does the same In the second lap, it was already clear that Vanthourenhout was on his way to a big performance, since he had already twenty seconds lead over the next chasers, led, by Van Nuffel, Ghyllebert and Aernouts. Gusty Bausch was also in the first group with Berden and Van der Linden, whereas Tom Van den Bosch and Jan Skarnitzl were busy trying to bridge up to them, just like Jempy Drucker who had moved up to 10th position with the chasing group in sight. Berden, Van den Bosch and Aernouts accelerated in the next lap, causing Van Nuffel and Van der Linden to be dropped. A few moments later, Van den Bosch also left the two other riders behind and took over the chase alone, whereas Skarnitzl, Bausch and Drucker bridged up to Berden and Aernouts, followed by Verstraeten and Ghyllebert. Dieter Vanthourenhout continued his impressive race at the front and increased his margin, but the battle for the next places was still very open. In the meantime, German champion Malte Urban (due to sickness) and French rider Renaud Vaubourg (after a spectacular crash) had abandoned the race. Skarnitzl, Berden, Aernouts After 6 laps, at half-race, the leading man had more than 30 seconds of advantage on Van den Bosch, Ben Berden and Jan Skarnitzl followed at 55", Bausch with Aernouts and Verstraeten at 1'15", whereas Drucker rode a few more seconds behind them in 9th position. Van Nuffel, Bazin and Van der Linden had lost all hope on a Top 10 spot, while Pascal Triebel and Jérôme Juncker battled for 20th position, Gusty Bausch, Jempy Drucker more than 2 minutes late and together with Tom de Kort and the young and surprisingly strong Pit Schlechter, who is at his first season in the top level category. Vanthourenout rode on his own in the lead, Van den Bosch did the same in second place, but Gusty Bausch hadn't said his last word yet. Little by little, with Aernouts in his wheel, he gained ground Skarnitzl and Berden, but an accident with a doubled rider and a little bit later a crash destroyed his chances for third place, leaving him without the rewarded benefit from his strong performance. Dieter Vanthourenhout Dieter Vanthourenhout finally won the 4th Grand-prix de la Commune de Contern with 38 seconds advantage on Tom Van den Bosch, whereas Ben Berden dropped Skarnitzl in the very last meters for third place. Gusty Bausch, who was passed by Aernouts and Verstraeten after his small crash, crossed the line in 7th position, 1'33" late, while Jempy Drucker finshed 9th, 2 minutes late. Third-place Luxemburger, Pascal Triebel, was noted in 17th position ahead of Schlechter and Juncker. 20th Grand-prix COMAT: 29 riders lined up for the opening act of the international cyclo-cross, more than ever in the last years. The 20th edition of the Grand-prix COMAT thus was a good one with some spectacular racing, suspense and deserved winners: Patsy Larno, Michel Vanthourenhout and Max Michely sans faille. It was the women's race that offered much of the supsense since after a good start from Susi Godart, there were two Patsy Larno and Pérrine Philippe foreign girls, Belgian Patsy Larno and French Perrine Philippe, that took over the lead and stayed together in the front until the very end. Philippe had taken the wheel of Godart in the opening round, whereas Larno was a little bit further back and had to battle hard to bridge up to the front. Godart was soon dropped after that, whereas last year's winner Christine Kovelter rode in fourth position. Patsy Larno and Pérrine Philippe battled out the victory on the last lap, when the Belgian rider took a few meters of advantage in the meadow and managed to keep them until the finish line, where she arrived as solo winner, 7 second ahead of Philippe. In the novice race, things were clear from the beginning. Michel Vanthourenhout, brother of Dieter, had warmed up on the course with his older bro and showed Mike Vanthourenhout that he had listened well to his advices, since he took the lead of the race from the beginning. The small Belgian with huge talent rode together with the fifth junior rider during the whole race and held at distance a duo of contenders from Alzingen, Pierre Lux and Thomas Berns. Both of them finished second and third respectively in a race that was only the beginnning of what turned out to be a very good day for family Vanthourenhout. The junior race showed also some suspense, mainly in the first part of it. Kevin Feiereisen had a good start and took over the lead early. Max Michely For a moment, he seemed capable of holding of the contenders from Tetange, and was the only one of the category to stay on his bike on a small, but steep hill where all the others had to run. But soon, Max Michely and Laurent Sadler bridged up to him together with Lex Reichling. Eventually, they were four in the lead and the next couple of laps were very tactical with several attacks. But after mid-race, Max Michely showed his strength and with a big acceleration, he took over the lead alone, cheered on by his brother, his mother and his grand-father (another family affair). Feiereisen was dropped and Reichling had to work alone in the chase, before being dropped himself by Laurent Salder in the last lap. Tétange did one-two at the end with Max Michely winning 26 seconds ahead of Laurent Sadler and 48 ahead of Lex Reichling (Preizerdaul) 4th Grand-prix de la Commune de Contern >>