Belgian national coach is fully sold on the immense talent of Thibau Nys: "I believe he has the ability to win every Monument"

This spring was an important step in the career of Thibau Nys. No, he didn't win any (major) Classic. But in his debut the Lidl-Trek rider found out that winning in Ardennes may not be a mission impossible. His results; 12th in Amstel, 8th at Fleche Wallonne and 5th in Liege support this conjecture. And some go even further in predictions of Nys' star future on road!

In the HLN podcast Wuyts & Vlaeminck, Michel Wuyts took things a step further. The former commentator is fully sold on Nys’s talent, believing he should not just focus on the Ardennes. "I am not basing this so much on his fifth place, but more on how easily he followed on La Redoute. He is only 22, which means you can really build something. The only challenge is that he will have to keep up with the Pogacar generation."

Belgian national coach Serge Pauwels pushed the hype even further. Pauwels believes that if Nys can hang in there at Liège, he can also contend at Milano-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, and maybe even Il Lombardia. And thanks to his cyclocross background, he could even take on Paris-Roubaix. "I believe he has the ability to win every Monument," Pauwels said. "From what I have seen so far, everything looks within his reach."

Nys already has an impressive list of victories, even though he has never completed a full road season. His 12 professional wins speak for themselves, Pauwels added. "He has so much technical ability. If he can finish this high in the Ardennes classics, there is no reason he cannot do the same in the Flemish ones."

Thibau Nys will be back at the startline on Thursday with yet another WorldTour Classic scheduled in Germany, the Eschborn-Frankfurt. This race could also be to the taste of the young Belgian all-rounder with hard enough profile to shake off most sprinters, yet not too hard for versatile men such as the 22-year-old. What comes after? Maybe Tour de France, who knows...