Continuing her great early form, Helen Wyman finished the second round of GVA trophy at the Koppenberg (Belgium) in 2nd place. It was the first time the women riders have had the privilege of competing up the cobbles of the Koppenberg (rather than a shorter diversion) and it made for great race. It was the Belgian Champion that took the pace along on the long road start before the favourites hit the front. Kona/FSA Factory team rider Helen Wyman led the race onto the first grass section before the assent of the cobbles. Slotting into the lead group, Helen continued to keep pushing the limits of her orange machine on the steep ups, and technical downs.
The first major attack of the day saw World Champion Marianne Vos going clear of the competition, only to get a puncture and loose touch with the lead. Havlikova then took the lead and it was Wyman that chased relentlessly throughout the race to keep on her heels. Despite not being able to finish on the top step of the podium, Helen was very thrilled with her 2nd place finish. "I’m really happy about that. It’s been a pretty exciting couple of weeks. Riding for Kona has given me a new lease of life. I’m loving every ride and the results are just getting better and better."
"I think the new focus of being individual for the cross season has helped so much, and the support I’ve also managed to get from people like For Goodness Shakes and Schlamm is also fantastic. It’s great fun doing what I do at the minute, so I just hope it can keep it going." Next up for Helen is the European Championships next weekend and then it’s the 2nd round of the World Cup in Nommay. UK National Champion Helen, currently lies 6th in the UCI ranking and 2nd in the GVA Trophy Classification.
Helen lines up for the start
Brief Result
1. Pavla Havlikova (Cze) 43:52:00
2. Helen Wyman – Kona/FSA Factory Team (GBr) 0:00:37
3. Sophie de Boer (Ned) 0:00:58
11. Gabriella Day (GBr) 0:03:43
www.helenwyman.com | www.twitter.com/cx_helen | www.konaworld.com
