Thibau Nys: "With Mathieu van der Poel, we’ll get a very different story"

Thibau Nys has made a statement in cyclocross with two consecutive World Cup victories, but he also knows that will change once Mathieu van der Poel returns in December. After wins in Tábor and Flamanville, a lot will be expected from Nys against Van der Poel. "But in two weeks, Mathieu will be back, and it will be a completely different story," the Belgian champion acknowledges.

"It's going really well," Nys laughed in his first reaction shortly after the race in Flamanville. "I'm super happy to have been able to ride at the front for the whole race with Lars van der Haar. We understand each other very well, so this was really a team victory today."

Nys and Van der Haar ended up in a lead group with Joris Nieuwenhuis, Niels Vandeputte, and later also Cameron Mason. That advantage for the Baloise Glowi Lions was maintained in the finale. Nys took advantage of a slip by Nieuwenhuis and opened a decisive gap, although that didn’t come without issues. "I had problems twice in the same corner, but other than that, I felt very good."

"I didn’t have the super day I had in Tábor, but I felt really good. The focus was on being able to ride two fast final laps. [...] The moment I wanted to accelerate, I think Joris was a bit ahead. Then Lars was in second position, and I received some seconds bonus. I had aimed to ride the finale because I didn’t feel like I could break away like last week," Nys reflected.

Nys now has four wins this season; however, December will be different. "I want to enjoy every race because in two weeks Mathieu will be back, and it will be a very different story," he looks ahead to the comeback of world champion Van der Poel, which will probably take place at the World Cup in Namur.

Nys himself is heading to a training camp now, which means he will skip next week’s World Cup in Italy. With two World Cup wins in a row, it’s tempting to also race that event, but the leader of Baloise Glowi Lions is determined and prefers the training camp.