THE HAGUE, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Marianne Vos became world champion cyclocross for the seventh time overall and for the sixth consecutive time in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands, on Saturday.
Vos drove away from the her rivals in the opening round, after which she continued solo to claim the title in spectacular fashion. The Italian Eva Lechner finished second over one minute behind the winner and Helen Wyman from Great Britain grabbed a bronze medal.
Vos was beaten a few times this season by Katherine Compton, but partly due to bad luck and an accident early in the race the American finished ninth.
"I was quite nervous beforehand," said Vos afterwards to Dutch broadcaster NOS. "The conditions were tough, so I hoped I could deal with it. Especially in the beginning of the race it was difficult, but after one round I found my rhythm. It's great to win here in the Netherlands. The spectators were fantastic, they constantly shouted my name."
Vos has now won a total of twelve World titles. The 26-year-old started her winning streak in 2006 at the World championships cyclocross in Zeddam, the Netherlands. Eight years later, she has collected seven World titles in cyclocross, three rainbow jerseys on the road (2006, 2012, 2013) and two gold's on track (2008, 2011).