Thibau Nys was clearly the best of the rest behind Mathieu van der Poel in the Benidorm World Cup on Sunday, but he was frustrated after the race about his opening lap. Bart Wellens also highlights this in his weekly column for Het Nieuwsblad and warns his compatriot ahead of the Cyclocross World Championships.
Nys was "a bit disappointed" after the race that he was a bit too far back in the first lap when Van der Poel decided to push the pace. The Belgian champion still tried to bridge the gap to the world champion but only caught sight of the Dutchman again after the finish.
"I thought Thibau was very good, but he rode a too casual first lap," Wellens says sharply. "Once again, he made the mistake of not immediately sitting on Mathieu’s wheel. He admitted that afterward too. He has to learn to get straight onto that wheel, period."
"Let this be the national coach’s job"
"If he really wants to compete with Mathieu at the World Championships – and in my opinion, he’s the only one who can – then from the very first corner, he has to be on Mathieu’s wheel," continues the former top cyclocross rider. "Let this be the responsibility of national coach Angelo De Clercq heading into the Worlds: he must ensure that the other Belgians don’t block Thibau in the early corners so that he has a clear path."
"I’m not saying he can drop Mathieu, but if we want to see more battle in Hulst, he has no other choice. He tried to bridge the gap at Benidorm, but couldn’t, and then dropped back into a group where he was clearly the strongest.
