After his strong performance in Tábor, former world champion Niels Albert considers current Belgian champion Thibau Nys capable of challenging Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert this winter. But according to fellow cyclocross rider Joris Nieuwenhuis, Nys shouldn’t count on that. "No one comes close to Mathieu when he’s having a really good day," says Nieuwenhuis.
In the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast by Laurens ten Dam, the Ridley cyclocross rider responds to Albert’s statements from earlier this week. "At this high level, Nys should perhaps be expected to provide stronger resistance to Mathieu van der Poel and/or Wout van Aert when they soon make their (r)eturn to the cyclocross scene. That should really be the aim now. At this moment, Thibau is one of the only cyclocross riders whose bursts of class can hurt the ‘Big Two’ and really put the pressure on them."
Nice words, but Nieuwenhuis still has his doubts. "I do think that Thibau, in the races that really suit him, or if he has a truly good day... I don’t know if he can keep up then, because Mathieu would have to have an off day. No one comes close to Mathieu when he’s having a really good day," Nieuwenhuis—like Wout van Aert—of course does not want to see disappear from cyclocross. "I hope they keep racing for as long as possible, because that really adds je ne sais quoi to the sport."
