World champion Sven Nys (Crelan-Euphony) expected to grab the victory at the 2013 edition of the Koppenbergcross. In the end he finished fifth behind winner Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea).

"I was good but not good enough. I was able to keep up but it wasn't possible to ride away. I could not make the difference. Last year I was better. Nevertheless it should have been possible to win in these circumstances too. I wanted to be in the mix for the sprint but I made a mistake at the bottom of the climb," Nys said.

It is not really a common thing to see Nys make mistake, but well sometimes even the best can make them.

"After the descent I hopped off the bike at the corner before the meadow. It went very fast and when I hopped back up the bike I was in too big of a gear."

It seemed like Nys wasn't enjoying the day, during the race, as he often left some gaps and rode at the back of the group.

"The pace often dropped so it was clear that the final lap would decide the race. Every attacker would be blown back again. Only if the course is muddy does an attacker stand a chance. Riding in the top four costs a lot of energy, so I opted not to do so here. I left some gaps to ride at my own pace. On the tough sections I made up any lost ground," Nys said. "Everybody matched each other in terms of form and power. Meeusen is very punchy at the finish."