Thibau Nys "far above expectations" - Father Sven Nys thrilled with son's immediate success on the road this year

Thibau Nys grew up in the cyclocross environment but more and more he shows his talent on the road. After winning stage 3 of the Tour de Romandie there were big reasons to celebrate, and this included cyclocross legend Sven Nys who talks about how impressed he was.

“It was a great stage that I saw happen. I thought they would take back the leaders, but at a certain point I got the feeling that Thibau still had something left," Nys said in an interview with Sporza. "The question was: did he still have a sprint left after such a stage? After all, he had done a lot of work along the way. So yes. Very punishing.”

Nys got himself in the breakaway of the day, in hopes of succeeding on the day. It didn't seem too likely at first, but the final ascent proved ideal for his characteristics. The Belgian surprised with how well he did on such a long ascent, but it was then his excellent sprinting ability that earned him a victory atop the mountain against Andrea Vendrame.

“I thought it was great that Thibau was in the breakaway for so long, until the finish. Because in this peloton there are all men who are already competing and preparing for the Giro, while Thibau did not race for seven to eight weeks. This victory – on an uphill finish of 7 kilometers – is far above expectations," Sven added. "If someone had said this beforehand, we would say that person had fallen on their head.”