Belgian cyclo-crosser Sven Nijs (Rabobank) continued his late-season charge on Sunday, winning the Grand Prix of the Netherlands, round five of the six-round World Cup series. Nijs beat Czech Petr Dlask and Dutchman Richard Groenendaal to take his second World Cup win of the 2000-01 season.

Nijs, Dlask and Groenendaal jumped out to the early lead in Zeddam, opening up a gap on chasers such as Erwin Vervecken, Mario De Clercq and Gerben De Knegt. But with three laps remaining, Groenendaal fell back, victim of a mechanical problem. The world champion chased back, only to crash on the second-to-last lap.

With Groenendaal falling off, Nijs went on the attack and soloed to a 10-second win over Dlask, with Groenendaal another 37 seconds behind.

Nijs, who suffered from a knee injury early in the season, has returned to form at precisely the right moment -- a week before the Belgium national championship and less than a month from the world championships in Tabor, the Czech Republic, his two big objectives for the season.

Copyright 2001 AFP