Today's race in Asper-Gavere ended in a fifth place finish for Styby. After a good start he fell behind the day's stronger riders including Sven Nys who beat out Kevin Pauwels in a sprint finish. The victory extends Sven's lead ahead of our favorite in the Superprestige standings.
This classic on the cyclocross calendar featured the surprising presence of American champion Tim Johnson and Frenchman John Gadret. However, neither rider played more than a supporting role in the race and were both out of contention for the win after the first lap.
Zdenek got off to a great start in the wake of teammate Bart Wellens and Klaas Vantornout. Kevin Pauwels, Sven Nys and Niels Albert were also at the front and Albert upped the pace during the second lap. Styby stayed with the group and did his share of the work.
The group stayed together until the fourth lap when Nys accelerated. Our world champion was unable to respond and looked very concerned as Albert and Pauwels tried to bridge the gap. It was really difficult for him to keep up with Vantornout and Wellens, but he succeeded.
At the front of the race Albert was dropped from the lead group and Pauwels and Nys sprinted for the victory. The Belgian champion surprisingly took the sprint, though he did slightly shut the door on Zdenek's teammate. Our favorite ended the day in fifth behind Wellens and now sits in second place in the overall Superprestige standings, five points behind Nys.