"Everyone in the team is surprised and so is Thibau himself" - Lidl-Trek sports director impressed by Thibau Nys climbing performances

Within just a month of road racing, Thibau Nys already has five victories to his name. Only his star teammates Mads Pedersen and Jonathan Milan have more wins in 2024, but they have both been racing since January. Lidl-Trek knows they've got a gem in their hands and the plan is to gradually put more pressure on Nys' shoulders as he should make debut at the Classics in 2025, while Grand tour start is also on the horizon.

That the 21-year-old would start winning right off the bat is something not even sports director Maxime Monfort has foreseen, as he admits in an interview with Sporza. "Everyone in the team is surprised and so is Thibau himself. We knew his preparation had gone perfectly, but that he would win so much..."

Where we haven't seen much of Nys was in the bunch arrivals. "He has a fast sprint in his legs. But in the Tour of Romandie and the Tour of Hungary, we saw that he is a bit scared in the real bunch sprints," Monfort also noted. "Thibau has a hard time positioning in the fast bunch sprints. But he has already shown that he is much more than a sprinter."

His stage victories in Tour de Romandie, Tour of Norway and Tour de Hongrie were uphill each time. "Thibau comes into his own on an uphill finish after a not too long climb," he said. "Then he can follow the best riders and win the sprint from a reduced group. In the end, Thibau will have to focus on what he does best."