Combining road and cyclocross at Trek - Segafredo "a dream coming true" for Thibau Nys

When a rider is as talented as Sven Nys, sometimes it becomes hard to choose between disciplines. A specialist in cyclocross and a very promising upcomer in the road, the Trek - Segafredo has talked about his decisions and plans for the upcoming season.

"I know the Trek family for a really long time and all the guys behind the team and the connection is a bit the same but, of course, it’s still a completely new environment. It’s still like a dream coming true. Every time I put on my [team] clothes in the morning, it’s good," Nys said in an interview with VeloNews.

Nys grew up and developed with the Baloise - Trek Lions team, who had a continental road team, but the Belgian wanted something more and his talent led him to sign for Trek - Segafredo with whom the team has deep connections with: "I think this was the right opportunity at the right moment and it will help me grow as a rider in cyclocross also and also on the road," he said.

Nys is not leaving cyclocross behind, but after a lot of promising results, he will also be riding at World Tour level in 2023. "[In 2021] I won the European championships and had a sixth in the worlds and then we started feeling that maybe there is something possible on the road," he continued. "It’s nice to achieve something in cyclocross, but when you can achieve something on the road is so much bigger, and it’s so much more than just the small cyclocross world."

The 20-year old has already raced as a trainee for Trek this year, and is one of the few three signings for the American team. His focus in the remainder of the CX season will hinder his spring ambitions, however he is looking to perform later in the season. "It’s possible to start in Nokere Koerse or Denain, but it’s not sure yet. Maybe it will take two or three weeks after, between the first and the second race. I will not do the classic season," he said.

"Next year is all about learning. I think we have to see it long-term. This year is all about learning and growing, getting to know myself a little bit more, also the team, and see where I can find myself the best, where my limits are, and which races suit me the best, which is also something I don’t really know for the moment," the son of CX legend Sven Nys continued. "I showed some good things in a sprint but also on climbing courses, a bit of the classic types. It’s a bit difficult to say for the moment."

Firstly though, Nys has a cyclocross season to complete. After two of five rounds, he leads the under-23 World Cup, but has also impressed at Elite level. He does not choose one discipline over the other: "At the end of the cyclocross season, I feel like starting the road again and the other way around. I wouldn’t be able to pick one. Cyclocross is still my first love and I think I will never be able to let go of that. But I want to discover the road also."

However not all is as good, as over the last few weeks he's been suffering from back issues again, leading to another inconsistent stint. "I think I had a pretty good start in the cyclocross season, even better than I expected. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve not been super, I’ve been struggling a bit with my back. It’s nothing too serious. Something that can be resolved," he detailed. "I’m just a little bit too weak for the moment, I need to focus more on my core stability and my back training, and it will be gone soon."

This would resemble the same issues both Mathieu and David van der Poel have suffered which have recently taken chunks out of both's season. Worries have emerged over the same possibility in the Belgian's case, but he is not as concerned.

"I don’t think it will be that bad. I just need to focus more on doing a job for my back and doing a lot of core exercises. The camp here is perfect to have two weeks off from cyclocross and have a small reset again. I hope I will be back in top shape for the Christmas period and the world championships," he explained.