"It was very difficult to get away on the final circuit" - Thibau Nys leaves World Championships very disappointed
Cycling
The contrast couldn't be greater: while world champion Axel Laurance was spitting over his bike from fatigue, Thibau Nys crossed the finish line with his mouth closed. The Belgian says he had a super day, but he as well as whole Belgian team missed all the key moves and came short at the end of the day.
"I'm a bit disappointed because I had the idea that I still had to get my best legs out to ride the final," he tells HLN disappointedly. "I had a very good day. Tactically, we only made a number of mistakes, which means that we are chasing after the facts. I did what I had to do, but you can't control everything. That's too bad."
With this, Nys mainly refers to the group of nine that took off early. That included the eventual world champion, and many riders who also rode in the final. Belgium simply didn't have a single man in front throughout whole day. "We missed the early breakaway, but it wasn't up to me to go with that. On the other hand, I did see that break go. Without communication you just don't know where the rest are."
"I felt that I was one of the stronger ones, but the jabs often came at times when things hadn't gone very fast for a long time," he says. "There was never a high pace for an entire lap, so I never felt that it was the right time to go for it. Then it was very difficult to get away, it just wasn't going fast enough."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
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- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
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