"Thibau Nys has a specialty and is simply outstanding in it" - Jose De Cauwer sees new Belgian superstar emerging at Lidl-Trek

After a cyclocross campaign where Thibau Nys seemed to have taken a big step towards the biggest names, the 21-year-old Belgian has continued his impressive ride on the road in 2024.

With wins at races such as the Tour de Romandie, the Tour de Hongrie, the Tour of Norway and the Tour de Suisse already this season, Nys has starred once again this week at the Tour de Pologne. According to the experience Belgian cycling expert Jose De Cauwer, his nation may well have a new cycling superstar on its hands.

"It's getting more and more extreme. Because everyone knows what's going to happen, but no one can do anything about it. It's wanting to, but just not being able to," De Cauwer tells Sporza after Nys' second stage win of the race in Poland. "Thibau Nys has a specialty and is simply outstanding in it. It seems as if the rest - and they are not the least - make mistakes, but in this domain there is simply nothing to be done against Thibau."

That specialty is finishes with a punchy final kilometre. In Poland, Nys has grasped Lidl-Trek leadership from teammate Mads Pedersen and even defeated the likes of Jonas Vingegaard, Diego Ulissi and Magnus Sheffield among others in the punchy finales. "That cool from Thibau... That's fantastic. The sprint is pulled for him - by Pedersen, you know - and he sits there calmly looking at his meter. When he is overruled for a moment, you think 'oh'. But Thibau calmly moves along and times his last sprint perfectly," analyses De Cauwer. "That's really straight out of the book. With this example, you could go to youth races about how to approach a final sprint. Being in a good position, not panicking and trusting yourself. These are qualities that you normally attribute to veterans, but Thibau is only 21. Hats off!"

"Remco won San Sebastian at 19 by riding away from everyone else. So let's stay away from that, it's already good as it is. We have multiple winners in Belgium. You had Remco Evenepoel, Wout van Aert, Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier. But now certainly also Thibau Nys," De Cauwer concludes. "Because Thibau is 21 years old - then you normally have to mature a bit more. So it normally doesn't stop there. But you have to ask every youngster the question: how much more will there be? Will Thibau be able to do this in the future in classics of 260 kilometres? You never know. Although his current performances give hope for the best."