2012 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Men's elite race

This event was held on Sunday 29 January 2012 as part of the 2012 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships at Koksijde, Belgium. Ten laps had to be completed, totalling up to 29.44 kilometre.

Men's Elite Cyclo-cross Race
2012 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships
Rainbow jersey
Race details
DatesJanuary 29, 2012 (2012-01-29)
Stages1
Distance29.44 km (18.29 mi)
Winning time1h 06' 07" (26.72 km/h or 16.60 mph)
Medalists
   Gold  Niels Albert (Belgium)
   Silver  Rob Peeters (Belgium)
   Bronze  Kevin Pauwels (Belgium)
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Summary

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In the weeks before the race, four favourites emerged: Sven Nys, who has been considered a favourite on about every race since he became a professional, Kevin Pauwels, who had won the World Cup the week before, Zdeněk Štybar, the World Champion of the two previous years and Niels Albert, who had a lousy season, but is known to be great in the sand.

Albert started very quickly with Štybar right behind him. However halfway round the first lap Albert was already alone while Štybar got caught up by the pack. A lap later Pauwels had left the others and was gaining on Albert, but never actually got there. Meanwhile, in the background, the five other Belgian riders were together with Štybar hanging at the end of that group.

By lap four, Nys had joined Pauwels in the chase on Albert who had kept on widening the gap. Their combined efforts were not enough as the gap kept on growing while from behind the four other Belgians, with an impressive Rob Peeters, were slowly gaining ground. The riders from other countries were nowhere to be seen.

Albert kept on going solo till the end and took home his second World Championship title. The chasing group consisted completely of the six other Belgians. Tom Meeusen and Rob Peeters were looking the best, but Meeusen fell in the sand in the last lap. Peeters did keep his stability and got a silver medal, Pauwels completed the podium. Nys ended as the last Belgian, the chase on Albert had destroyed him.

Ranking

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Rank Cyclist Time
    Niels Albert (BEL) 1h 06' 07"
    Rob Peeters (BEL) + 24"
    Kevin Pauwels (BEL) + 30"
4   Tom Meeusen (BEL) + 34"
5   Bart Aernouts (BEL) + 35"
6   Klaas Vantornout (BEL) + 1'09"
7   Sven Nys (BEL) + 1'11"
8   Radomír Šimůnek (CZE) + 2'15"
9   Philipp Walsleben (GER) + 2'24"
10   Simon Zahner (SUI) + 2'31"
11   Steve Chainel (FRA) + 2'37"
12   Francis Mourey (FRA) + 2'48"
13   Zdeněk Štybar (CZE) + 3'17"
14   Aurélien Duval (FRA) + 3'41"
15   Niels Wubben (NED) s.t.
16   Julien Taramarcaz (SUI) + 3'42"
17   Gerben De Knegt (NED) s.t.
18   Ryan Trebon (USA) + 4'02"
19   Marcel Meisen (GER) + 4'06"
20   José Antonio Hermida (ESP) s.t.
21   Twan Van Den Brand (NED) + 4'07"
22   Mariusz Gil (POL) + 4'22"
23   Thijs Van Amerongen (NED) + 4'40"
24   Christoph Pfingsten (GER) + 5'10"
25   Christian Heule (SUI) - 1 LAP
26   Jeremy Powers (USA) - 2 LAPS
27   Marcel Wildhaber (GER) - 2 LAPS
28   Enrico Franzoi (ITA) - 2 LAPS
29   John Gadret (FRA) - 2 LAPS
30   Jiri Polnicky (CZE) - 2 LAPS
31   Martin Zlámalík (CZE) - 2 LAPS
32   Mitchell Huenders (NED) - 3 LAPS
33   Vladimir Kyzivat (CZE) - 3 LAPS
34   Timothy Johnson (USA) - 3 LAPS
35   Isaac Suarez Fernandez (ESP) - 3 LAPS
36   Ian Field (GBR) - 3 LAPS
37   Petr Dlask (CZE) - 3 LAPS
38   Clément Bourgoin (FRA) - 3 LAPS
39   Sascha Weber (GER) - 3 LAPS
40   Marco Ponta (ITA) - 3 LAPS
41   Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga (ESP) - 3 LAPS
42   James Driscoll (USA) - 3 LAPS
43   Christopher Jones (USA) - 5 LAPS
44   Mirko Tabacchi (ITA) - 5 LAPS
45   Yu Takenouchi (JPN) - 5 LAPS
46   Magnus Darvell (SWE) - 5 LAPS
47   Martin Haring (SVK) - 5 LAPS
48   Gusty Bausch (LUX) - 5 LAPS
49   Christian Helmig (LUX) - 5 LAPS
50   Cristian Cominelli (ITA) - 5 LAPS
51   Craig Richey (CAN) - 6 LAPS
52   Aitor Hernández (ESP) - 6 LAPS
53   Vaclav Metlicka (SVK) - 6 LAPS
54   Daniel Geismayr (AUT) - 6 LAPS
55   Keiichi Tsujiura (JPN) - 6 LAPS
56   Karl Heinz Gollinger (AUT) - 7 LAPS
57   Lewis Rattray (AUS) - 7 LAPS
58   Robert Gehbauer (AUT) - 7 LAPS
59   David Quist (NOR) - 8 LAPS
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  • Official website
  • "Albert rijdt solo naar wereldtitel in Koksijde" (in Dutch). Sporza. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2012.