Cycling: Sven Nys (Crelan-AA Drink) celebrated a successful start to the season - with certainly mixed feelings.
The organizers of Cross Vegas had changed the course for the race this year and thus ensured much more excitement. However, they probably didn't expect the most exciting moment to come until after the race.
A group of almost 20 drivers dominated the field until four laps before the end. Led by Sven Vantourenhout (Crelan-AA Drink), it was the American Adam Craig (Giant) who opened the final at the beginning of the third to last round. However, his attack was quickly neutralized.
The attack by US champion Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus), who broke up the group and put both Nys and Lars van der Haar (Giant-Shimano) under pressure, was more successful.
In the last lap, Nys countered Powers' attack and broke away from his fellow combatants relatively quickly. At the finish he was able to celebrate like last year. He confidently relegated Van der Haar, who was able to keep Powers at a distance on the last lap, to second place.
Only a few minutes after the race, however, it was unclear whether Nys would actually be crowned the winner. He had accepted a drink during the race, which is why the jury actually wanted to disqualify him. However, failing to take the Belgian champion out of the race beforehand, the penalty was eventually commuted to a fine. As a result, Nys was allowed on the podium, ahead of Van der Haar and Powers: Las Vegas is just a gambling city in which the rules are a matter of interpretation.
Somewhat surprisingly, the women's race was won by Meredith Miller (Noosa), who was the only rider in the States to be able to outperform both Katherina Nash (Luna) and Katie Compton (Trek).