Wyman does the double

British champion Helen Wyman did the double this week as she triumphed at the women’s Koppenbergcross in Belgium on Thursday and followed it up with a sprint finish victory at the European Cyclo-Cross Championships at Chantry Park in Ipswich at the weekend.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Nov 2012, 13:00 BST

The Kona Factory and Barton biker held off fellow Brit Nikki Harris (Telenet-Fidea) to claim victory with Sanne Van Paassen of the Netherlands third during the week.

The race involved part of the Koppenberg cobbled climb in Flanders before taking a very muddy course through the surrounding fields.

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Then at the weekend, the 31-year-old held off Van Paassen in a sprint finish as Harris came third, as Wyman became the first-ever British woman to win the title.

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Wyman said: “I’ve had a pretty spectacular week. Second in the World Cup, winning at Koppenberg on Thursday and now winning here is pretty exciting.

“I knew I could hold my own on this course and Van Paassen was the person to beat.

“When we came on to the finishing straight I knew I could beat her because it was an uphill sprint and the crowd were screaming at me to win.

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“I’ve been waiting my whole career to have a home advantage and finally I get to win.”

Wyman swapped places with the Dutch rider throughout the race but she triumphed in a cat and mouse finish in 43.52mins, just ahead of Van Paassen who clocked the same time with Harris 24 seconds behind.

The Barton biker has now departed for two weeks’ racing in America.

Related topics:BelgiumBartonIpswich